


Black Beauty, Golden Beast

by BeesBuzzin, Write4Fun (BeesBuzzin)



Category: RWBY
Genre: #sexual tension, And they were soulmates, Angst, BB Endgame, Bad Girl! Yang, Blake is Yang-curious, Blake just wants to spread her artistic wings dammit!, Did I forget to mention “slow-ish burn?”, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Highschool AU, Highschool cliches starring your favorite characters!, I Apologize For This, Mild Sexual Scene but they’re 18, No magic/Grimm/huntsmen, Pan Yang, Remnant but modern themes, Some peeps pop in and out, Still Faunas, Suffering Sassy Weiss, Sun is a good boi, Underage Drinking, Yang radiating Top energy, all the tropes!, cliche tropes, enemies to lovers?, maaaaybe some illegal activities, mild violence, sexuality struggles, some might be a little OOC for plot, very gay, will tag as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 124,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23255362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeesBuzzin/pseuds/BeesBuzzin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeesBuzzin/pseuds/Write4Fun
Summary: Blake’s life was actually going pretty well for once. She had a boyfriend, a job and good grades.That is, until she stumbled into a certain cocky blonde that managed to turn her world upside down. This girl had a reputation, and she knew it.(Slow Burn Bee Endgame)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Sun Wukong, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Bumbleby - Relationship, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 287
Kudos: 399





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Will continue if it’s wanted. (It’ll get longer) Title also might change if I think of a better one.
> 
> Bad at summaries and tagging so sorry about that...but hey, give it a chance, why not.
> 
> I got inspired by other works so I posted this. This is NOT a oneshot. Nor is it a BlackSun story.  
> Dont worry fellow Bee shippers, you will be fed. Patience is a virtue.
> 
> Remember some character actions may be OOC for the sake of plot and self-indulgent cliche ;)
> 
> Its quarantine times so why the fuck not?

"Yes, Sun, I know...Okay. I'll be there on time. I promise.”

She definitely won't be there on time, she thought, mentally hitting herself on the head repeatedly as her feline ears flattened against her skull.

Blake really hadn't meant to forget about their anniversary and that she was supposed to go to the movies with him, she simply had lost track of time at some point while she had been drawing (and admittedly reading a few books) It happened sometimes; She started a new little sketch and the next thing she knew was that three hours had passed and she had filled a few pages of her sketchbook without looking up once.

Usually she loved those moments, when her train of thought came to a screeching halt and blissful quiet took its place, no thoughts or worries, just the sound of the pencil scratching across the paper. Just peace and quiet...It was, however, quite inconvenient when it resulted in being late to a date which they had been planning for days.

She was supposed to be on a movie date, yet here she was the whole time. At a cafe.

On the other end of the line Sun was still talking, his tone growing more and more impatient by the minute. Holding the phone away from her human ear, she quietly ordered a green tea from the grumpy looking, canine-faunas that was serving the drinks.

"What? No, I wouldn't forget our anniversary.” She stated with a faked laugh and immediately felt bad for lying to him. If there had been such a thing as a contest for The World's Worst Girlfriend, she was sure that she would've won it by now. Tenfold.

In the meantime, Resting-Bitch-Face put the tea down on the counter and waited impatiently for her to hand him the money. She quickly fished some money out of her pocket and didn't wait for him to give her the change, but left with the hot paper cup in her hand. Maybe the tip could lighten up his shitty mood.

Blake was pretty sure that almost everyone would've thought that buying tea instead of heading to meet her boyfriend right away was a waste of time, but it wasn't to her.  
Sometimes, she was pretty sure that a good tea was the only thing keeping her body going and sane, which sounded a little unhealthy or dramatic when she thought about it, but it was entirely accurate nevertheless. If she wanted to get through the day and go on that date, Blake knew that she needed at least something to keep her going. Besides, the Café was just down the road, only a stone's throw from the theatre, so it was only a smidge of a detour.

"On my way, don't worry. I'll be there in just a minute. Bye, yeah, love you too," She said.

Hanging up, she stepped outside and hurriedly crossed the street.

Blake glanced at the time on her scroll, only to realize that she was already eight minutes late. Swearing quietly under her breath, she slipped the scroll back into her pocket. However, before she could look up again, she felt herself bumping into someone.

There was a quiet thump as bodies collided, then a string of hissed curses. Before she could even process what had happened, she stumbled back and looked up to see a furious red-eyed blonde girl with a mixture of tea and the girl’s own coffee spilled all over her white t-shirt.

Blake stood frozen in shock, blinking up at her and being met with red eyes staring into her very soul. They belonged to a human girl who was around her age but a good few inches taller.

Her voice, dark and annoyed, dripping power and confidence, ripped her out of her reverie. "Are you kidding me?"

"Shit, I'm so sorry," The faunas stammered and looked at the ugly stain on her chest. "Are you okay? Are you hurt or anything?"

The girl rolled her eyes, anger slowly turning into irritation. Although, her eyes were no longer red. They were now a beautiful, brilliant lilac, Blake had to admit. "Oh, no. It’s not like you spilled a scalding-hot beverage on me or anything.”

Blake hugged herself, rubbing one arm in embarrassment and felt her cheeks flushing and ears flattening.

"But it's fine, I'm hotter than that anyway," The blonde mumbled under her breath.

She was honestly not sure if she had heard wrong, so she just kept her mouth shut, overwhelmed with the entire situation. Then, on an impulse she couldn't explain, the faunas quickly pulled her jacket off and handed it to her. Fortunately, she had been wearing a black blouse underneath. "Here, you can wear this. I'm really sorry.”

“It's not like spilling a drink on another person is some kinda bonding experience, so you could stop with the whole anxious embarrassment thing." she snapped, but took the jacket and put it on in one single flowing motion nevertheless.

The faunas didn't know what to say to that, so she just watched her silently. Yes, she has a boyfriend but anyone who says this girl isn't at least gorgeous is a liar.

So yeah, gorgeous. But only objectively, a passing beauty. Nothing wrong with stating facts.

"You’re staring pretty hard. What? See something you like?” The blonde asked sarcastically, her tone clearly still annoyed. "Aren't you in a hurry? Sure as hell seemed like it when you ran right into me."

"Yeah, right...Again, I'm really am so-"

The girl just ran her fingers through her long golden hair and cut her off: "You're sorry, I get it. Just go on about your day, you do you, and I’ll do me." She pronounced the last sentence as if it was some kind of a disease. Or maybe it was a warning. Without another word, she put on the aviators that were hooked on her shirt and walked off.

 _Great. Nice. Fantastic_ , she thought. She just gave away her favorite jacket to an asshole.

Blake probably wouldn't see it (or her) ever again. While she was kind of sad about the first one, she really didn't mind the latter, knowing she’d probably die from embarrassment if she ever had to talk to that fiery girl again.

Sighing softly, she threw the empty cup in the bin, pretty disappointed that she hadn't been able to drink a single sip of it. Then, she turned around and made her way to the theatre as fast as she could, knowing that Sun would be upset, and rightfully so. Blake had a past. A past that seemed to drift in and affect her already-straining relationship from time to time.

He didn't understand. No one could.

As expected, he was already standing in front of the building, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed over his chest, monkey tail swinging to and fro. Even from afar (although her faunas traits surely helped) she could see that his lips were pressed together in a thin line, a clear sign that he was worried and/or irritated.

He looked good today, as he always did. Even if, at times, he acted as if he were allergic to wearing shirts. Something about him always reminded her of a Ken doll, probably because of his lightly tanned skin, the big blue-grey eyes and the button nose. His blonde hair was shaggy but in a charming way that made him look roguish; a feeling of guilt washed over her as she saw that he had even made the effort to dress up in a proper shirt for once for their date. And Blake had forgotten about it completely.

"Hey, Sun," She said with an apologetic smile and tilted her head up to kiss him, but he turned his head away. Blake bit down on her lip and took a step back to give him some space.

Sun replied with a glare that really wasn't very intimidating at all. The problem was that whenever he tried to shoot an angry look, he always ended up looking more like a Golden Retriever. It was adorable, really, but now was probably not the right time to for her to point that out.

" _Hey, Sun_?” He imitated her. "That's all you gotta say, dude?"

"Listen, I'm sorry that I was late. I didn't mean to, but there was this girl and I ran into her and I spilled my tea all over her and then I had to lend her my jacket and-"

"Seriously, Blake?" He crossed his arms with an exasperated stare. "If you don't want to hang out with me, you can just tell me. But don't make any excuses. I just thought...considering we’re dating that you’d want to-“

Blake lifted her hands in defeat. "Sun, I swear, I'm not lying. I know how this sounds, but that's what happened and I..." She inhaled deeply before continuing, hoping that he could tell she was being genuine. "I actually really, really want to go on that date with you. What happened _really_ happened. This...this isn't like last time."

His eyes softened as he looked at the raven-haired girl. He remained silent for a moment before sighing. "Fine. It's okay, we’re cool. I'm sorry for being a dick about it."

"You weren't though," Blake reassured, reaching out to place a gentle hand on his bicep. "I was the one being an idiot."

"True," He chuckled. "But all jokes aside, you’re not an idiot at all.”

Before she could reply, he stepped closer and pulled her into a soft kiss, his lips still smiling against hers. She let her eyes flutter shut and tried to focus only on the familiar and safe feeling of his body pressed to hers and his muscular arms looping around her waist.

She really didn't get what people found so great about kissing. It's really just pressing your lips together and exchanging body liquids, isn't it? It just never seemed like a big deal to her for the entirety of their relationship.

The feline faunas broke away from him after a few seconds and pulled out her phone to check the time. "Crap," She muttered. "The movie already started."

Sun grimaced in disappointment. "There goes our movie date..."

"Wait, I have an idea," Blake added. "How about watching movies and ordering pizza at my place?"

His face lit up a little at that. "Can we watch that one sci-fi mech show with the people who upload their brains to the giant robots?" Sun asked excitedly.

Blake rolled her eyes, smiling. "Sure, nerd.”

"Hah! You’re one to talk. But pizza and movies it is!" He announced happily and grabbed her hand.

And just like that, everything between them was fine again, like it always was. As they made their way back to Blake’s house, Sun was already chattering about how his day had been and how excited he was for school to start again tomorrow, but she was only listening with half an ear, even if she had two sets of them, too busy wondering what that weird always-lingering feeling in the pit of her stomach that just wouldn't go away was.

It felt like a warning.


	2. Chapter 2

The bright light of a thousand suns blinded her eyes the next morning... Turns out, it was just the screen of her scroll making its anti-climatic appearance as she slapped the alarm off.

With a tired groan she looked at the time and groaned again when she saw that it was already half past seven. Seemed like she’d accidentally hit snooze twice. Oh well.

Blake suppressed her feline urges to just crawl back under the covers and miss the first day of school after the holidays, when she remembered that she had promised her friend, Weiss, that she’d pick her up on the way to school. At least until her father trusted her with a car again.

As much as she would've loved to skip a few classes, she couldn't leave her best friend hanging like that. Plus, she really didn't want to face Weiss’ wrath. That girl could turn a man to stone with a single glare. So Blake sloppily rolled herself out of bed, quickly put on some clothes that were scattered across the room and slipped into some white vans.

Continuing her routine; she made sure her hair was presentable and that her eyeliner was done right. The faunas took a quick glance in the mirror. She thought of herself as pretty average looking. Still, it’s not like she hasn't gotten a compliment before. So, eh, good enough.

With a half satisfied smile at herself in the mirror she brushed her teeth and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Her parents had already left for work (she was still getting used to them being here instead of Menagerie) , so there was no one there to scold or rush her. She liked her peace and quiet. After she had poured herself some coffee, even if she preferred tea, the caffeine of coffee was tolerable for a pick-me-up- into her thermos cup. She swung her backpack on her shoulder and was ready to go.

Blake’s car was parked at the curb right outside the door. It wasn't one of the expensive rides that some of these rich kids at her school had, she didn't much care for the rich kids; Weiss being the exception. But as long as it moved, she was cool with her little car. It was her mom's old beamer and at least it was black...

Ten minutes later she pulled up in front of Weiss’ large house where she honked twice, sipping from her thermos. Mere seconds later Weiss strutted out, wearing one of her fancy rich-girl get-ups including the obligatory heels. The silver-haired girl opened the door and gracefully collapsed in the passenger seat, huffing.

"Good morning, you insufferable dolt.” She greeted, prim and proper as per usual, and bent down to adjust her skirt.

She started the car but slammed on the brakes immediately afterwards, and making the old car hop forward just a little, causing Weiss to hit her head on the dashboard.

"Oops." Blake replied dryly and smiled sweetly at her.

"Hey! How dare you?”

She just rolled her eyes at her remark and started the car again, speeding down the streets because there were only five minutes left until class would start. When they stopped at a red light, Blake guzzled down more coffee, feeling Weiss’ judging gaze on her.

"Blake, your caffeine and/or tea addiction is getting completely out of control," She stated, taking the cup out of her hand to take a sip. "And how much sugar did you put in this? This is way too sweet. Do you know how bad that is for your health?"

"Ye-Weiss! What the heck!" She complained when she handed it back to her and the faunas slowly realized she had finished the entire cup. “You just said it was bad for you!”

"I'm just trying to help you with your unhealthy addiction!" She exclaimed. "Don't fret, at least it didn't go to waste."

"Remind me why I'm giving you a ride to school again?" Blake asked as they stopped in front of the building.

"Because you adore me," Weiss drawled with a faux prissy accent and an elegant grin as she exited the car.

The faunas followed suit. "I’ll see you later, okay?” She told her as she spotted Sun in the parking lot. Weiss responded with a simple nod, unbothered.

With that, Blake ditched her and walked towards Sun, who was chatting with some of his usual friends next to his car. If anything, it was hard not to spot Sun’s friends considering their crazy choices in hair color.

"Hey, Blake! Have I forgotten to mention that you left a certain Ninjas Of Love book over at my house?” Blake heard Weiss practically scream after her.

...Or, at least, she thought Weiss was unbothered.

Blake lifted her middle finger without looking back at her, feeling the amused stares of the other students following her whilst she crossed the parking lot as her face got redder and redder.

"Ninjas of Love, huh?" Sun asked after kissing her hello and tried to hold back his laughter. He failed. "I didn't know you were into that."

"Yeah...” She answered dryly, ending that sentence with an awkward laugh, so yeah, she pretty much just wanted to die right there. Sun only slung his arm around her shoulder, steering her towards the school building.

________

Two hours later, Blake met Weiss after two horrible periods of Math classes. As always, she was waiting beside her locker with a gluten-free bagel in her hand (which never got any less confusing every time she saw it, considering Weiss’ rants about horrible cafeteria food) and a ghost of a grin on her face.

"I feel very accomplished today. We’ve survived almost two years with these dunces!" She stated, as if it was some kind of great achievement.

Blake just sent her a blank stare and opened her locker to get her bag; the next two periods were Gym classes. “Great. Have you also counted how many there are left? I have a feeling that number is a little higher. You’re the OCD one who organizes everything after all. Calculate any of that?”

Weiss gave her a look. A look that said _your humor is drier than Vacuo._

"Why the hell are you always so miserable? You get to spend the entire break with the likes of _me_ , your amazing best friend, isn't that reason enough to be happy?" She dramatically sighed, punctuating her sentence with a flip of her white hair.

The faunas turned around to inform her that 1) She wasn't miserable, she was just really tired. Okay maybe she could be a bit emo at times but not the point, and 2) if there was an ‘amazing best friend’ among the two of them, it’d be herself.

However, as she faced the corridor, all she could do was stare. Stare at the girl from yesterday, the one she had spilled her entire drink on, who was suddenly walking down the corridor with two other girls, her lilac eyes twinkling with amusement as she laughed about something one of her friends said.

But the thing that hit her the most was the jacket she was wearing. Blake’s jacket. _Her_ jacket. She wore it over a shirt that peeked out of the collar. And damn, did she pull it off...and not just because the shirt showed off a bit of cleavage.

"Hold on a second," Blake mumbled to the snow-haired girl and quickly went after the intimidating blonde.

She had stopped at her locker a few feet away from Blake’s, her friends still standing next to her. One of them was a redhead with almost-orange hair and striking blue eyes and the other was a brunette that wore a beret atop her head. All human. Though, the blonde was apparently the one making the jokes now. They were probably pretty bad if their grimaces were anything to going by. Even with faunas traits, it’d be pretty difficult to pick out specific voices in a hall full of people. So guessing it was.

As cliche as it was, they did radiate cool energy. Blake hated clique-y ‘popular’ people. She wasn't shy, just reserved, she liked to keep to herself sometimes. It’s not like she, herself, was an outcast per se and definitely not with Weiss Schnee as a friend. Even if most people think she’s an icy bitch, Weiss still had money and money is power. Blake could be social if she wanted, but just chose not to do so. So she could not, for the life of her, explain why she initiated a conversation with this girl.

"Uh, hey?" The amber-eyed girl said when she was close enough and immediately cursed herself for starting the conversation like that. Those girls all looked like trouble. The blonde seemed like the kind that got into fist fights in the parking lot after school or spent her weekends getting wasted at house parties. Meanwhile Blake was more like someone who stays inside all day to read a book.

But maybe she was just jumping to conclusions? Her mother did tell her not to judge a book by its cover. That has some truth to it, right?

The blonde girl with Blake’s jacket spun around immediately, grinning wickedly. "Oh, would you look at that," She sneered. "If it isn't the girl who ruined my shirt."

Her friends quickly fell silent and turned to look at her, one with curious blue eyes, the other with brown eyes looking vaguely interested.

"Yep, that'd be me..." She responded and chewed on her bottom lip, searching for the right words to say. "Sorry, but could I maybe get my jacket back?"

She pretended to consider what the faunas said for a moment before she said: "Sorry, but I think I'll be keeping it, Kitten.”

Behind her, Blake saw the brown haired girl snickering. "Yang, you’re such a little shit," The brunette grinned and looked at her. "Sorry, but I don't think you'll be getting it back anytime soon. Yang here is still pretty pissed about her shirt and mentioned something about messing up her hair so..."

The blonde only hummed and mumbled some sort of affirmative answer. Judging by how her jaw set, she figured she must really not like having her hair messed with.

Blake might have gotten away easier than she thought.

The girl, Yang, only crossed her arms above her (very well-endowed) chest. "Didja want anything else or are we done?"

Not knowing what to say, Blake just stared at her, her mouth only slightly agape. Yang answered her gaze for a few seconds before she slammed the door of her locker shut and left, her friends following behind.

"And what, pray tell, just happened?" Weiss asked between two small and proper bites of her bagel, coming up behind her. "Since when are you fraternizing with Yang Xiao Long?"

"Is that her name?" She asked, "How do you know her?"

Weiss looked at her as if she was the devil herself. "Blake, _everyone_ knows her." She rolled her ice-blue eyes as she observed the puzzled expression the faunas held. "She’s pretty popular around here, I can't believe you've never heard about her. She used to be an athlete or something, I think, and her sister still does track. That blonde oaf probably has hundreds of notches on her belt. She gets all the guys... and the girls!” Weiss scoffed. “Don’t know what they see in her.”

"She's bisexual?"

“Pan. It’s when you-“

"I know what that is, Weiss," She interrupted.

"I suppose. Luckily, I don’t need to teach you something as trivial as that.”

"Please. You didn't even know what Pansexual meant before I told you," Blake added.

"Anyways.... how do you know Yang?" Weiss asked again.

The faunas quickly explained the whole coffee-tea-incident to her and the fact that Yang wouldn't give the jacket back.

Weiss’ blue eyes widened during the explanation. "You mean to tell me that some of it got on her hair too, and yet you’re _still_ alive? She fought before. She’s a delinquent, Blake. A _rapscallion_! You should stay away from that girl.”

"But I love that jacket!" She whined. "And I can't stand seeing her wear it like that....also _rapscallion_? Really?”

"Wear it like _what_?"

"Like it's hers!"

"Blake, just give up. It pretty much _is_ hers now," Weiss said in a serious voice.

Blake only huffed, resting a hand against her cheek.

Soon, it was time for gym class. She didn't much care for the class or subject but she was still a pretty fit person.

Smiling innocently at the teacher, Blake walked down the hallway and to the gym.

Well, She guessed skipping is a no-go then. It was like that teacher read her mind as she shot out an authoritative glare.

This year she was in an advanced course. Officially, because her gym teacher, Coach Ironwood, thought that Blake was excellent at track and field. More so the ‘field’ part due to her outstanding agility.

So this year she was stuck in the advanced gym course with all the jocks and athletes with some that had a bodies like Greek gods and goddesses and some that most certainly did not. Sighing, she pushed through the doors to the gym and accepted her fate.

Towards the end of the second period she saw everything crystal clear: this had to be Coach Ironwood’s revenge manifesting in an extremely strenuous workout because of her skipping the previous two-day pep rally. Both times. It wasn't her fault that all the loud noises hurt her ears. Of course, not many understood.

Blake was panting, her t-shirt was soaked with sweat and her face probably as bright as a tomato. The worst thing was that all the ‘I came here on an athletic scholarship’ kids still looked like models in a sports commercial, not even a little out of breath.

"Hey Kitten, this is volleyball! You're supposed to hit the ball, not run away from it!" Yang Xiao Long shouted at her from across the hall.

Fuck.

Yeah, that girl was in this class, too, and she disliked her more with every passing minute. She seemed to focus more on making cocky comments about Blake’s performance than actually playing and every time the volleyball came near Yang, she aimed it right in her general direction.

When the coach blew the final whistle, it was music to her ears and Blake was the first one to head to the locker room. She was done showering before all the others came in, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Just as she was ready to leave, her amber gaze landed on a bag that was laying on the floor. More specifically: Yang’s sports bag. And what peeked out of it was, of course, her black jacket.

Blake hesitated for a second. Should she risk it? If she caught her going through her stuff to get it, she’d probably be pretty pissed. Isn't that trespassing? An invasion of privacy?

But if she didn't, she’d most likely never get it back. And it honestly was a really nice jacket...

Taking one last deep breath, she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. Looking over at the door separating the showers from the locker room, she saw they were still shut. Everyone was still inside, she could easily hear them giggling over the sound of running water. This was her chance, the only one she would get. So she darted towards the bag and reached for her jacket.

The faunas was pulled back and pushed against the wall before her fingertips could even graze it, feeling her back collide with the concrete. Although, it was not nearly as hard a push as she would’ve thought. It’s not like the girl was weak.

Yang’s purple eyes bored into hers, as she leaned forward, one arm building a half-cage around her, making it harder to escape but left an opening there for her to get away if she wanted. She would love to say she would’ve taken the escape route but her mind was frozen. Trapped between her and the wall, all she could do was gasp and stare at her.

Her inaction only gave away more permission for this weird little game to continue.

The blonde had just finished showering and apparently hadn't bothered putting on a shirt yet; drops of water were still clinging to her hair and traveling down her bare arms. The scent of her shampoo was citrusy and overwhelming.

"Wanna try that again?" She asked in a threateningly low voice and a tilt of her head.

Blake had no idea how someone only clad in a sports bra and towels was able to look intimidating, but hell, there it was.

She was so close that she could feel her warm breath tickling her skin, coaxing goosebumps to the surface.

Blake couldn't get a word out, which the insufferable blonde obviously took as a _no_.

Yang chuckled. "I figured."

She sent the faunas one last warning look before backing away fully and demonstratively pulled _her_ jacket over her head with a flourish. She walked backwards towards the door, shooting dual finger-guns as she exited.

Even when the door had fallen shut behind her, Blake was still leaning against the wall, unable to move.

_What the fuck?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse any POV errors, some stuff slips right by me. If anything bothers you TOO too much then let me know. I’m working on that.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday nights sucked. So did Thursday nights.

Because on these days Blake had to work at the The Fang, a small bar slash pub slash filthy room with billiard tables. It was a hot, gross space that usually smelled like cigarettes, alcohol and cheap perfume, where old men and the occasional students came to drink their butts off.

She mentally prepared herself for another wasted evening. If she wouldn't have needed the money, she would've quit the job long ago. But the truth was, that she needed it. She wanted to buy a camera, an actual, good one, something better than the one her parents had bought her for Christmas two years ago. Photography was the thing she loved the most besides drawing or reading-the only thing she was really good at. She wanted that camera, dammit.

So here she was, unlocking the front door of the The Fang and preparing everything. Her boss, Hei Xiong ( _but everyone just called him Junior_ ) was late. Like always. Sometimes he'd only be two minutes late, sometimes two hours, leaving her alone with dozens of drunkards. Yeah, he was an asshole, but he was also the asshole who transferred the money to her bank account every month, so she had to grin and suck it up.  
As always.

Soon the room began to fill and she was busy serving drinks and taking orders. Junior came in after around twenty minutes, bringing the reek of alcohol with him and just leaning against the counter doing nothing while Blake did her best to keep up with the steady flow of new arrivals.

There were seven full tables, so she didn't notice them at first, especially since she had her hands full and her mind busy.

But then she saw them: Yang and her friends crossing the room and sitting down in one corner of the bar. _Man, that girl has a lot of friends..._

It seemed like she was always with someone. Lots of humans too, but she didn't really see Yang as being a racist. Then again, people could surprise you.

Her mind went blank immediately. _What were they doing here?_ People from her school rarely came here, and she definitely couldn't remember ever seeing them.

The faunas chose to ignore them and pretended she hadn't seen them yet for a solid ten minutes, but truth be told, she secretly had an eye on them the entire time. Blake watched as a tall and, actually really pretty, redheaded girl, who wore a ponytail, joined them and sat down next to Yang, who hugged her. And she smiled, showing teeth and dimples in a way that wasn't sassy or sarcastic for once. It was the first genuine smile she’d seen on her face, and it was throwing her off completely.

Yang must've felt her gaze on her, seeing as she now turned around to glance at her... And there was that smug grin again.

Blake groaned in frustration about the embarrassment this evening would inevitably bring and slowly walked over to their table, feeling Yang staring at her all the way.

"Hi. What would you like to drink?" Blake asked as politely as she could and did her best not to look her into those piercing lilac eyes.

The faunas was more than aware of the black waiter's apron she was wearing and the wet towel that hung across her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed thanks to stress and the rising temperature in the bar, her hair was a tangled mess. Meanwhile, Yang and her three companions all looked flawless, every single pair of eyes trained on her.

"Hello there. I think I know you!" Said ponytail girl with a polite smile. Her friendly tone caught her off guard; somehow it didn't fit in with some of her friends at all. Then again, she didn't really know them. "You're the one who got the arts award at school last year, right?" She tilted her head and Blake was surprised to see genuine interest and a hint of admiration in her emerald eyes.

"Yeah, that was me," She replied and dared to smile back at her. "But it was nothing special, really. It was just a pretty lame portrait."

The lanky guy with blonde hair ( _She was pretty sure she had heard Yang call him Jaune_ ) rolled his eyes playfully. "Hey don't lie. I saw it and it was amazing!"

Next to him the black-haired guy with a single streak of pink hair flowing in front of his face, the mysterious one that hadn't said anything when she was around yet, gave a curt nod, but he seemed pretty distant. "Do you mind if we get a beer?"

"Don't mind Ren. He can be a bit soft-spoken so it comes off as stand-offish sometimes. He’s a good guy," the girl explained, then she sent Blake an apologetic glance.

Jaune chuckled. “Well, _I_ think _someone_ just misses Nora!”

Ignoring him, the redhead continued. "We'd like to have a bottle of beer each. Please.” She stated in a better, more polite, tone.

Blake wouldn't tell them that, but she could relate to this Ren guy on _that_ particular level. People often mistook quiet for bitchy so she wasn't about to make the same assumptions about him.

As for the beer.. _technically_ , she wasn't allowed to do that. But Junior aka Mr. Everyone-who-can-pay-gets-a-drink didn't care about the legal drinking age or the fact that she was only seventeen and not allowed to serve alcohol if that meant he'd make more money.

So she just nodded and quickly fled from their table.

Junior, who was still sitting at the bar and hadn't moved an inch, was eyeing Blake warily. "Belladonna, you're getting paid to serve drinks, not for chatting up your little high school friends." He declared in his usual grizzly, wannabe-authoritative voice.

She decided not to answer and got behind the counter to get the beer from the fridge.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" he said, too loud for her liking, attracting several stares.

It always made her uncomfortable.

"Sorry," The faunas mumbled and turned to face him, ears pinned down to her head. From the corner of her eye she caught Yang watching, leaning back in her chair, one hand resting on the table in a fist.

"You're the lousiest fuckin’ worker I’ve ever hired here... Give me that beer," Junior spat. "Now go do your damn job!"

He snatched one of the bottles from her hand, forcing her to have to take a second trip to the fridge to retrieve another. In her head she was yelling every swear she knew at him like a child, but on the outside she tried to keep calm.

_Breathe in, breathe out. Close it off, calm exterior, Belladonna. This is just a means to an end. Relax._

_...I’m getting that goddamn camera_.

These kinds of rants weren't unusual, especially when Junior had a bad day and a few bottles of beer to boot.

Blake kept telling herself to ignore him and walked over to Yang’s table, silently setting the beer down in front of them. Yang still didn't say anything to her and just continued talking to the girl instead. She suspected it was because the blonde was probably still pissed that she had tried to go into her bag and commit Grand-Theft-Jacket. Even if it was _Blake’s_ jacket.

"Do you already know who you're sharing tents with next week?" the girl asked Yang and smiled at Blake as she handed her a bottle.

She knew what they were talking about right away: it was about the annual camping trip the Biology classes took.

Field trip to study the local biotopes, as their Biology teachers called it.

Competition on who can smuggle the most alcohol on the trip, as the students called it.

"Nope," Yang said, popping the _‘P’_ , "Too bad we can't sleep in a tent together." She grinned, and Blake couldn't tell if that was a joke or if she was being bluntly flirtatious.

Blake frowned slightly, intrigued, as she walked over to a nearby table and began collecting the empty glasses it was littered with, all the way unable to take her eyes off of them. _Were they together?_ Their body language didn't allude to anything ( _they were sitting next to each other, but there was plenty of space between them and they weren't holding hands or anything_ ). 

There was, however, an unmistakable air of affection between them, obvious in the knowing smiles they exchanged and the way they talked with each other in such a relaxed and comfortable way.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, a ‘ _curiosity killed the cat_ ’ joke was shamefully made without her permission.

The girl just raised an eyebrow. "You think? Because I can imagine having a more pleasant tent-mate to be honest. One who doesn't snore or drool in her sleep and making awful puns all the while." She shot back in that soft, sweet voice of hers.

It baffled Blake how anything that came out of her mouth always seemed so...polite. Like it was her natural, default way of communication. Even when she was outright making fun of somebody. She seemed nice.

On the opposite side of the table, Jaune chuckled, giving her an approving high five. Yang pressed one hand to her chest, pretending to be deeply offended. "Ouch, Nikos, you wound me," she snorted. "Puns are an art, they are a lifestyle. You are pun-shaming me and I am feeling so attacked right now.”

Blake caught herself being so engrossed in their conversation that she was still standing there listening, so she hurriedly retreated to the counter.

Junior had nearly finished his third beer and she was seriously starting to worry. When he got drunk, he got unpredictable and kind of scary. Even scarier than he usually was; he was an average-sized, burly guy with a buzz cut and a full beard who was always wearing a black vest. He had that ‘ _tough guy_ ’ aura about him.

"Didn't I tell you to hurry?" he barked as she returned to the counter. "If you don't move it, I won't pay you this week, you understand?"

Blake gritted her teeth to stop herself from saying anything stupid and nodded before walking over to take the order from the new guests who had just entered.

 _Just three more hours and I'm home. Just three more hours and I'm home. Just three more hours..._ She internally repeated like a mantra.

"Hi. What can I get you?" She asked, forcing a smile onto her face.

_Three hours and I'm one step closer to buying that camera._

Once she was done serving them, the blonde guy, Jaune, waved her over to their table again. She went reluctantly.

"One more round for all of us," he called out.

The redhead just smiled, shaking her head fondly, but didn't bother apologizing for another one of her friends again.

Jaune, apparently catching on, spoke again. “Oh, uh, _please_.”

Ignoring him, she asked, pointing a finger at Junior who was watching Blake with narrowed eyes: "Is he your boss?"

"Yeah," The faunas sighed, turning her attention back to her.

"He's an asshole," she stated. Blake was surprised how easily the swear rolled off her tongue. With her sweet smile and and genuine niceness, she didn't seem like the kind of girl who cussed. Then again, she was friends with Yang, so she probably shouldn't have been so surprised. "You shouldn't let him talk to you like that. That isn't right.”

"She’s right, ya know," Jaune agreed.

Blake tried to shrug it off. "I can't really do anything about it. He's my boss and I need the money, so my options are pretty limited."

The girl frowned.

"That guy seems even more hot-headed than Yang here," Jaune said and lightly shoved the blond girl with his shoulder. The only reaction he got was an exasperated eye roll and a small twitch of a smirk, but Jaune continued to smile, apparently used to his friend's temper.

Suddenly, the girl cleared her throat and smiled at her. "Hey, can I get your number?" she asked. Blake’s eyes widened in surprise, but before she could reply, she quickly added: "Oh, I didn't mean it like that! By the way, Sun is..a lovely guy.”

"Oh, um, yeah, he is," She said, trying not to seem too relieved. She honestly had no idea how she would've said no to her without sounding awkward or offensive, since she had little experience with being flirted with. Especially with a girl.

Next to her, she caught Yang rolling her eyes at their conversation.

"Here you go." She quickly scribbled her number down on a napkin.

"Also, my name is Pyrrha," the girl introduced herself with another friendly smile.

She opened her mouth to answer when Junior called her over. "Belladonna! Get your ass over here!" he yelled across the entire bar.

Blake stiffened as she felt everyone's eyes on her.

_Stay calm. It'll be fine. Just pretend they aren't there._

She forced herself to breathe in and out slowly, trying to fight down the anxiety taking over her body. Then she quickly did what he asked of her and crossed the room.

"Who do you think you are?" Junior yelled into her face.

She fought down her gag reflex when drops of his spit hit her, frowning, as her felid ears reflexively pinned down again. They always seemed to do that around him.

"This is the _third_ time I caught you chit-chatting with your friends instead of working. This is _my_ bar, and you'll do as I tell you, you got me?"

His head turned bright red as he proceeded to shout.

Yeah, he definitely had too much to drink.

She could feel her nails digging into the palms of her hands, which were formed into fists while she tried to calm herself. She let her mind revert back to the calming techniques she learned a long time ago, back then she heavily relied on it, but it was quickly occurring to her that she still didn't change much and it was _still_ a necessity.

"I...I'm sorry, I didn't...They ordered me over and wanted more drinks, I just-"

This seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Junior’s face turned from red to violet and the faunas started to get seriously freaked out. He was drunk, completely wasted. She didn't know how much he had drunken tonight, before he arrived here and afterwards. All she knew was that this was not good.

"Stop lying to me, you little bitch!"

Blake took a few stumbling steps backwards, wanting to bring as much distance as possible between them, until she stood in the center of the room. She glanced over in the direction of Yang and her friends, but immediately turned back when she caught Junior in her peripheral vision grabbing one of the empty beer bottles that were on the counter.

She wasn't prepared for what followed, not thinking for a second that he would really do it. Even when he lifted his hand and threw the bottle, she couldn't quite believe it.

The bottle purposely missed her by just an inch or two, and shattered against the wall. It had only lightly brushed her cheek, like the touch of a butterfly's wing. Only that it hadn't been a butterfly but a beer bottle, aimed directly at her head.

She stared at Junior, eyes wide and body unable to move in shock. Her heart was beating so fast she was convinced everyone in the bar could hear it thrumming. By now, every conversation had stopped. Everyone watched as one of her hands moved to touch her cheek in disbelief.

"Now do something useful and clean up that mess!" He yelled.

_I need the money. I need the money._

There was something in his dark eyes, something that made her believe he would continue to throw bottles at her until one of them didn't miss if she didn't obey. So she turned around and walked over to the wall.

Seeing the shards scattered on the wooden floor, glistening like crystals in the light of the ceiling lamps, suddenly seemed surreal. Her blood was swooshing in her ears as she crouched down like she was in a trance and reached for the broken bits of glass. She slowly picked them up one by one, grabbing them with her right hand and collecting them in her left, until someone gently captured her wrists and held them.

Blake looked up to see Yang’s face hovering just inches away from hers. Her eyes flashed and burning red stared into wide amber, torn between pity and anger. Anger won. It seemed as though that whole fiasco really pissed her off. Mainly Junior.

"What are you _doing_?" She asked and looked down at my hands.

At that moment, she realized there was blood dripping down her fingers, from where the shards had cut into her skin. But she still didn't feel anything. Everything was numb, so she just watched as the blood trickled from her fingertips, strangely fascinated by the way it hit the dirty wooden floor.

And then her field of vision seemed to shrink and dark spots were dancing in front of her eyes. Yang was still not letting go of her wrists and didn't break eye contact.

Blake’s lips parted and she realized she should probably say something, explain herself, but she already felt the room swirling around them. She was tongue-tied and couldn't tell her what was happening.

Her eyes widened. "Fuck," she swore, her voice strained. "Does blood freak you out?"

Blake nodded breathlessly. Yang quickly pulled her towards her until her back was leaning against the wall. She was kneeling next to her, strands of golden hair falling on her face. She pushed them away impatiently.

"Pyrrha," she called out, only slightly more concerned. "Can you get her a glass of water? And look for a first aid kit or something."

"It's behind the counter," Blake murmured.

She couldn't hear a response, just the clicking of her heels quickly receding.

Yang took hold of her wrists again, examining them, as if she was scared she might try to pick the shards up again. "Just..don't look at it, okay? Everything will be fine."

Something about her voice was strangely soothing, so she just nodded and looked up at the ceiling. The cuts had started to burn and she could taste blood in her mouth from biting her lip too hard.

"You're an idiot," Yang groaned and shook her head, but there was no actual sharpness or malice to her words. "Why would you just pick up the shards like that? That wasn't _quite_ the smartest idea there...”

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what I was thinking. Just wanted to get it over with.”

Yang’s only reply was a quiet huff and for maybe a minute or two they were just sitting there in silence next to each other.

Next to her, Yang sighed in relief as Pyrrha returned. She opened her eyes to look at her as she kneeled down beside the faunas and held a glass of water to her lips.

"Here, drink this," she ordered. Then she started carefully inspecting her hands. When she had made sure that there were no glass splinters in the wound, she took a muslin bandage out of the first aid kit and began to wrap it around the palms of Blake’s hands. A few moments later, she was finished.

"Thank you," Blake said and smiled weakly at both of them.

Yang only rolled her eyes and got up. "Just don't do that again." Then she walked away and said, without turning around to her: "Oh, and if I were you, I'd quit this job. You would’ve gotten fired anyway if I hadn’t stopped myself from clocking your boss in the throat. G’night, idiot."

"Good night," She said, too late and too quiet for her to hear.


	4. Chapter 4

When Blake woke up the next morning, the first mistake she made was to prop herself up on her right hand.

With a muffled screech, she fell back into her pillows, hoping that she hadn't ripped the scratches open again. Knowing better this time, she swung her legs out of the bed and got up without putting too much pressure on her hands.

Then she quickly got ready and ran down to have breakfast, which was her second mistake.

Her parents were still there and of course, the first thing her mom noticed, were the bandages around her hands.

"Blake, what happened?" she exclaimed in a high-pitched, alarmed voice.

That was her mom, yep, always assuming the worst. When she was younger she used to sleep-walk at night, crying and mumbling incomprehensible stuff, and for over half a year Kali had been convinced she was possessed. Hell, if her dad wouldn't have stopped her she probably would've brought her to a priest for an exorcism.

It was just, anxiety messes with your sleep cycle, it can give you nightmares at times and Blake just supposed she got the short end of the stick.

"It's nothing, mom," She sighed, pouring milk over her cereal. "I just cut myself on some glass at work yesterday."

Her mother was still watching her suspiciously while she started eating. "Blake, you know that you can always talk to us, right?"

She tried hard not to roll her eyes.

Luckily it was then that her dad took her hand and said: "Honey, _relax_. She knows."

"Does it hurt?" Kali questioned.

Overprotective as always. Little did she know that real pain was felt on the inside most of the time.

She shot her a thin-lipped smile. "It's okay, Mom. It's nothing bad."

“If you say so.”

With a brief smile, Blake got up. "I'm leaving for school. Bye then."

"Blake, do you have your lunch? Oh, and your water bottle?"

" _Yes_ , mom," She answered firmly. "I'm not _ten_."

Kali shut her mouth and turned to her husband for help. Blake knew that look. It said _Ghira, how do I handle a teenage girl? Ghira, why is she always like that?_

Without turning around again, Blake practically stormed out of the kitchen and left the house, her car keys dangling from her fingers and her bag over her shoulder. She had kind of a hard time driving to school, since the palms of her hands still hurt pretty bad, so she was immensely happy when she finally rolled onto the parking lot.

It was still pretty much deserted ( _She had actually managed to come on time for once_ ) and she couldn't see Weiss or Sun anywhere yet. She didn't really have many other friends, at least not any that live close by, so, as pathetic as it was, she sat down on the stairs to the building and pulled out her sketchbook to doodle a bit.

Holding the pencil with her bandaged hand was a bit of a struggle, but somehow she managed. She didn't even really focus on what she was drawing, just on the feeling of the pencil scratching over the paper and the way it instantly put her mind at ease. Lost in thought she didn't notice Yang approaching until she bent down and snatched the sketchbook from her.

She smirked, clearly enjoying herself. "You know, it's actually kind of fun to mess around with you. You blush so easily, it's adorable."

Blake just scowled at her and reached over to finally get her sketch book back, only for Yang to catch her completely off-guard as she pulled on her outstretched arm, making Blake fall right onto her.

Suddenly her face was just inches away from Yang’s and her chest was pressed against her torso. Her heart started racing almost immediately.

"Damn, at least buy a girl dinner first.” Yang said smugly.

Before she could respond or even get off of her, a familiar voice cut in. "Girls! What do you think you’re doing?"

Blake scrambled to her feet immediately and looked up to see one of her teachers, Mr. Port, standing on the stairs, glaring at them. His expression showed a mix of horror, anger and the wish to quit his job at this school right this second.

"What did it look like?" Yang asked, smiling innocently.

Meanwhile Blake just wanted to leave and move to Mistral with a new identity.

Mr. Port gasped and pointed a finger at us. "You two, detention after school! You are not at this school to perform these... these actions in public!"

"Sir, I wasn't...I'm not...I'm not even into girls!" Blake stammered, horrified.

Next to her Yang was shaking with laughter. "I am," she said, helpful as ever.

She shot her a glare and turned back to the teacher. "I did nothing wrong, I was just trying-"

"Oh, she was totally trying to get into my pants right there," Yang cut her off with a sly grin.

Mr. Port looked like he was close to having a heart attack. "In the detention room after school, both of you! And keep your hands to yourself!" he yelled and walked back into the school.

"How could you just say that?" The faunas hissed, turning to look at Yang. "Now I have to go to detention because you made it look like we were making out or _something_ , even though I would never-"

Yang, who had finally gotten her laughter under control, just grinned cheekily. "C'mon, kitten, I know you want some of this." She wiggled her eyebrows jokingly.

"Just give me my sketchbook back and leave me alone," She said, glaring at her.

"Fine, fine," Yang conceded and tossed it back at her.

Blake caught it and turned around without so much as looking at her, angrily stomping into the opposite direction.

"Don't worry, sooner or later you won't be able to resist all this hotness!" She heard Yang shouting after her in-between fits of laughter.

Blake just flipped her off. Something about this girl annoyed her more than anyone ever had. Everything about the way she talked so confidently and always messed with her made her want to scream. She couldn't stand her.

And after school she would be stuck with her in detention for something she didn't even do.

 _Great_.

In lack of a better place to wait for her friends, Blake walked back to her car and leaned against it, scanning the parking lot for them. Fortunately it only took about three minutes until she saw Weiss walking towards her.

"Hey Blake," she greeted, panting, as she stopped in front of her.

She looked at the snow-haired girl, one eyebrow raised. "Weiss, the school is literally only ten minutes away from your house. How are you this out of breath?"

"Walked. I think I'm going to actually faint," she announced dramatically and slumped down next to her car, her head resting against the front door.

“To hell with father saying ‘a Schnee such as yourself should always have a perfect image’ also known as basically fat-shaming me.”

Blake shook her head and sat down next to her, her legs stretched out in front of her. “He’s an asshole.”

Weiss stared at her from the side. “That would be correct, but what’s with the face?”

"I'm not making a face," She grumpily answered.

"Sure," Weiss rolled her eyes. "And what in God’s name happened to your hands?"

"Had a little dispute with Junior at the bar. He threw a bottle at me and I cut myself on the shards. Yang and her friends were there though, so they helped me."

"Yang as in Yang Xiao Long, the girl who looked like she wanted to kill you yesterday?" Weiss asked, of course only focusing on that part of the story.

"More like Yang Xiao Long, the girl who is _still_ trying to. I have to go to detention with her today after school," Blake groaned and bumped her head against the black car.

Weiss frowned incredulously. " _What_? Blake Belladonna, who never does anything forbidden and already feels bad if she doesn't return a book on time, needs to go to detention? Blake Belladonna who never fails an exam? Blake Belladonna who-"

" _Yes_ , me, Blake Belladonna!" She interrupted before she could go on.

Weiss just laughed cutely. "So, what exactly did you do?"

She bit her lip as the embarrassment returned. "Mr. Port apparently thought I was making out with Yang for whatever reason," She mumbled.

" _Excuse_ me, what was that?" Weiss teased, looking amused. "I didn't quite catch that."

"It looked like I was making out with Yang, _okay_?" She nearly shouted and buried her face in her hands so she didn't have to see the stupid look on Weiss’ face.

"Tell me everything."

As if to make everything even more embarrassing, Sun decided to join them in that exact moment. "What's so funny?" He asked and sat down on Blake’s other side, as Blake leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Nothing," She said, just as Weiss said: "She got detention for supposedly making out with Yang Xiao Long."

Blake glared at her while Sun looked at Blake. He didn't seem to know whether to laugh or frown. "What? You made out with Yang?"

"No, I didn't! The emphasis is on the word _supposedly_ , okay?" Blake mumbled. "It just looked like it when Mr. Port saw us, and he didn't seem to like what he saw."

Now Sun was laughing, she could feel his body shaking next to her. "I already started to worry," he grinned and Blake playfully swatted his arm.

"We should probably go inside. Class is starting in ten minutes and you _know_ how I am about being late," Weiss said and rose to her feet.

They followed suit and made their way up the stairs and to their class room.

In the corridor Sun bid them goodbye. “See ya! Blake, do you wanna hang out at my place later today?"

Blake nodded. "Sure. I'll come around after detention."

"Cool," he smiled. "Have fun with Yang."

Before she could reply to his sarcastic comment, he was already gone.

"Shall we?" Weiss asked, tapping her on the shoulder. “Don't want to get in even _more_ trouble for being late, do you?"

Blake followed her with a scowl. This was going to be a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s trouble in paradise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized RWBY doesn't actually show that many teachers do they? Besides Oz & Glynda because I already have something for them ....
> 
> So if I end up using a headmaster’s name when I run outta names then, oh, dont mind me. Hell, I might even use characters that aren't even teachers. Same goes for students who dont even attend Beacon. WELL THEY DO NOW.

The detention room was pretty much deserted when Blake arrived, except for the entirely impassive old teacher who was sitting there with his laptop. He didn't even look up when she approached to take one of the detention sheets.

"Hello..." She said as she took a sheet from the desk.

The man slowly looked up and said in a kind of bored, monotone voice: "What's your name?"

"Blake Belladonna.”

He just nodded –she watched with fascination as his weird mustache twitched in the process- and wrote her name down.

Then he looked back down at his laptop and Blake didn't really know what to do. Should she just sit down or was there something else she had to do? He hadn't dismissed her yet and she really had no idea how detention operated.

After a few seconds, Blake decided to just sit down. At that point, she stopped caring.

She walked to the furthest corner of the room, where the faunas collapsed into a chair and glanced at the clock. Detention would probably take an hour or so, she assumed, and internally growled in frustration. One hour could feel like an entire day when you were in the confines of school.

Five minutes later, a very short girl with multi-colored hair and... _And apparently has heterochromia judging by her eyes_...shot Blake a disinterested glance.  
Little by little the room began to fill with the kind of students she would usually avoid, and she began to feel just a _little_ uneasy.

At least she was doing better than Weiss would have. 

Ten minutes into the official beginning of detention, Yang walked in. She knocked on the teacher's desk with a wide grin and took a detention sheet.

The teacher narrowed his eyes at her. "Yang Xiao Long, as per usual. Where are your friends?"

Yang just shrugged casually. "I dunno.” She held her hand up, putting a finger down as she counted. “Coco is probably off somewhere playing tonsil hockey with Velvet. Nora is probably trying to benchpress unsuspecting civilians...oh and Reese is probably spray-painting dicks on your car.”

The teacher actually looked out of the window with a very concerned expression. Meanwhile the blonde glanced around the room to find a seat.

_Oh hell no._

Blake tried to make herself as small as possible in her chair, but of course she spotted her right away and sauntered over with a smug expression.

"Aww, well aren’t you just the cutest little delinquent!" She pulled up a chair from another table and slumped down on it so close to her, that she could smell her fruity shampoo.

She didn't respond and simply inched away from her, not sparing the girl a single glance.

Next to her, she heard the sound of Yang’s laugh.

"What?" Blake snapped and turned her face to find Yang looking at her, highly amused.

"Nothing," she replied with a twitch of a smile. "I just find it funny how your default is to act impassive with other people, yet here I am proving how easy it is to annoy you.”

"Have you considered that maybe you’re just a really annoying person?”

She shrugged and said: "I've heard worse. Come on, sweetheart, you can do better than that.”

"Can you stop with the nicknames? I'm trying to fill out this stupid detention sheet and you literally won't stop bothering me.”

"Oh, I get it," Yang responded and the look on her face made Blake realize that the wording of that sentence had been a mistake. "You're _already_ getting all hot and _bothered_ because of me, right?

The faunas closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling her cheeks flush involuntarily.

Yang only chuckled. "Fine, let's have a look at this detention sheet then, yeah?"

Blake didn't respond and just looked down at the paper.

"First question: _Why are you in detention?_ " She read aloud. "Because I nearly made out with Blake Belladonna, the sexy minx right next to me, if I hadn't been so rudely interrupted.”

Blake watched speechlessly as she scribbled those _exact_ words down.

"Because I was supposedly expressing ‘bold PDA’ with another student in public before school," Blake muttered.

The next question was: _Why did you do that?_

"I did not and never would," Blake muttered, jotting those words down.

"Ouch," The blonde laughed next to her and continued: "Because as I said: Sexy.”

Next question: _What could you have done differently?_

"Not talking to her or even acknowledging her existence," Blake answered.

Yang didn't say anything but Blake could see her writing something in her hasty calligraphy. _I would’ve preferred a real kiss, TBH._ It said _._

"Oh, ha ha." Blake remarked sarcastically and frowned at her, annoyed.

She just smiled that strange smile of hers and quickly signed the page.

"You're not _really_ handing that in, right?" The faunas asked in disbelief as she rose to her feet.

"Watch me."

And before she could do anything to stop her, Yang walked up to the teacher's desk and put down the piece of paper. When she returned, her only comment was: "Y’know, I usually don't fill in these sheets, but this was fun."

Blake glared at her and got up to hand hers in. All the way to the desk she could feel Yang’s gaze on her, burning holes into her back. As expected, the teacher still didn't look up and that gave Blake an idea.

She reached out, wanting to take Yang’s sheet before the teacher or anyone else, could read it.

But before she could even get her hands on it, the teacher suddenly looked up and said: "Leave this sheet where it is."

She quickly pulled her hand back. "But..”

The teacher took Yang’s paper with a curious flicker in his eyes. She watched in horror as he put on his glasses and began to read, first Yang’s , then hers.

When he was done, he looked up into amber eyes with a faint smile."Well, I think the two of you should just talk about this bump in your relationship. Everything can be fixed with communication if you're willing to talk about it.

"Pardon?” Blake asked, almost doing a spit-take. "No, no. It's not like that. I'm..we're not a couple."

"Does _she_ know that, too?"

She nodded firmly. "Yes! She's just fuc- messing with me.”

The teacher shook his head, again sending his whimsical mustache in motion. "Regardless of whether she's serious or not, I'll keep this sheet, and yours too. It wouldn't be the first time. Actually, now that I think about it, this reminds me of my younger years dealing with a troublesome blonde boy who wouldn't leave this poor girl alone. She had the eyes of blood. He was a brave one, thats for sure.”

With that he went back to working on his laptop.

Sending one last longing look at that insufferable blonde’s sheet, she returned to her seat, finding an annoyingly cheerful looking Yang waiting for her.

"So you couldn't get Mr. Mustache to help you?" She asked contentedly.

"No, he doesn't- Oh my god, Mr. Mustache? Seriously?" Blake asked and couldn't help but chuckle a little at how stupid that was.

Yang’s expression immediately morphed into one of exaggerated surprise as she pressed one hand against her chest and dramatically declared: "It's the year 2020. Apocalypse has broken out. A virus is spreading. Humanity is becoming extinct. Fireballs are raining down all over Remnant. Blake Belladonna knows how to _laugh_.”

After a few seconds of Blake just giving her a blank stare Yang added: "I'm _slightly_ disappointed it was about such a stupid joke, though. Tons of good content just spills out of me and you decide to laugh at _this_. What a waste of my artistry.”

Just then the bell rang and Blake rose to her feet at the speed of light, her bag already thrown over her shoulder.

"Too bad. I would've just _loved_ to hear more of that ‘good content’, but unfortunately I have to go," She said and walked past her, her shoulder slightly brushing against her chest as she went.

Yang just shrugged and followed suit, quickly catching up with her. She felt kind of uncomfortable, walking through the corridors and out of the building with her. It just felt odd.

When they arrived at the parking lot, she turned around to say goodbye, but Yang kept walking, straight towards Blake’s car.

"What are you doing?" Blake shouted after her.

"What do you think?" She replied, not even turning around.

She frowned and walked after her until she reached the vehicle. Yang was standing next to it, fishing for an ignition key from her pocket.

"Trust me, I'm not following you," she smirked and swung her legs around a bike. The light of the shining yellow motorcycle flashed twice. "Not everything's always about you, you know.”

"Oh," Blake breathed and eyed the steel horse. Of course the fucking bike belonged to _her_. Of course it did.

Next to it Blake’s car looked even shabbier with the color that was starting to peel off and the rust spreading from the front door.

Still, it seemed to fit. Broken cars for broken girls, right? Just like Yang’s bright bike matched her sunny disposition.

"I should really go now," Blake said. "My boyfriend is probably waiting on me."

For a moment it seemed like Yang wanted to say something but then she just nodded. "See you around."

Without looking at her or the bike, she got into her car. With the engine rattling and stuttering, she rolled out of the parking lot, just to see Yang pass by not long after, her bike running smoothly on the asphalt.

She saw the blonde nod at her but she pretended she hadn't seen it and made her way to Sun’s place.

...

Sun lived in one of those little brick row houses, the ones with painted window shutters and geraniums in buckets hanging below the windows.

When Blake rang the doorbell, his mom opened the door, a warm smile on her face that resembled her son’s.

Star Wukong was a human woman with light brown hair, which was currently in a bun, and a pair of striking blue eyes like Sun’s. Even if she wasn't originally from Vacuo like her husband, a monkey faunas like Sun, she seemed to pick up the style more and more. Though, she hears enough of the lingo from Sun.

She was a caring woman and always took care of her when Blake visited. Just like her own mother did with Sun.

It was Sun’s and her own parents who had pretty much secretly tried to get them together for years until they finally succeeded. To their parents, it was perfect; childhood friends destined to be together or something. It might as well have been an arranged marriage, but Sun had been a good friend prior so it worked out in the end. Blake was glad she was able to make both parents happy.

"Blake! It’s wonderful to see you again!" She exclaimed, hugging her tightly, which was always a bit awkward because she was a bit on the short side and Blake tended to wear heeled shoes so that didn't help at times either. The woman had to slightly stand on her tiptoes to be able to wrap her arms around her. "Sun is in his room. Do you want anything to eat, a sandwich, maybe?"

She declined politely and went up to Sun’s room which was located on the second floor.

As usual, when she came here, Sun was listening to music and lazily flipping through a comic book. He had his headphones on, but the music was so loud that she could still hear it when she entered. Especially with her faunas trait.

_🎵 Go where you need to  
Know I won't leave you  
I'll follow you like morning follows night  
You can run till your pain's through  
One thing I won't do  
Is to let you go alone to face the fight 🎵_

Everything about his room was familiar and cozy; She had known Sun since they were in elementary school together. Back then he had forced her to play monster trucks with him on the floor in front of his bed. Later, in middle school they had hung out together with her other friend, Ilia, all three of them best friends. The Three Musketeers.

Then Blake met Weiss and Ilia had to leave town for a while to deal with her father’s death; a construction accident, she said. Blake was relieved that Ilia left before she could meet Weiss, considering Mr. Schnee owned said construction company among many other businesses.

It could’ve turned ugly, even if Weiss was nothing like her family and couldn't really do much about faunas treatment.

After that, Sun confessed his crush on Blake one year ago and from that moment on, along with meddling parents all the way, they had been dating. It just seemed like the safe thing to do, he was familiar, and it made their families happy.

Blake had seen this room in all its stages: from the children's room with a racecar bed, to when some of the furniture had changed and the walls had been plastered with posters of rock bands, until now.

Even the scent, a mix of Sun and cologne, was familiar and immediately put her at ease.

Sun was laying on his bed, completely lost in the comic book, flat on his stomach with his chin ( _which she noticed started to grow bits of blond stubble_ ) resting in the palm of his left hand while he flipped the pages with the other one. His tail swaying to and fro the whole time.

He didn't notice her when she came in, so she just walked over to him and made herself comfortable next to him.

"Oh, hey!" He said and a smile lit up his face while he took off the headphones. "Sorry, I didn't even hear you come in."

"I noticed," She laughed and rested her cheek against his shoulder to glance at the page he was on. "What are you reading?"

He turned the graphic novel around to show her the cover.

"Is it good?" Blake asked.

Sun rolled onto his side. She did the same, so that they were laying in the same position, mirroring each other. He was so close that Blake could feel his warm breath brushing her face, not at all unpleasant.

"I dunno yet. It has awesome fights but it’s a bit unrealistic. Like, with the main characters. The guy died and the girl manipulated these godly dudes to bring him back. Then she tricked people into turning against the gods. She ended up jumping in some evil goo to end her suffering but then the girl got cursed with immortality and changed. She had a battle and killed her own family because he wanted to leave with the kids! Now she’s just like this evil witch who wants to destroy the world or something.” He rambled. 

“It all started out with love, she couldn't live without him, then everything did a huge 180...but when you love each other, it's shouldn't really be that way, right?”

Blake fell silent for a moment, ears folding down in thought, and she reached out to put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Just look at us! We don't fight often and when we do it doesn't last long. Because we love each other! ....Right?”

"Yeah," She said softly.

Sun smiled and inched closer, a second later his lips found hers. She kissed him back, watching him close his eyes as she slung an arm around him.

Isn't that what she was supposed to do?

And suddenly the kiss changed.

He began to kiss her more roughly, more wildly, and brought Blake to her knees, her hands locked behind his neck. But it still didn't seem to be enough for him, so he came even closer until he pulled Blake into his lap, her knees on both sides, straddling him.

"Sun?" She asked, her voice sounding strangely insecure all of a sudden.

She never got an answer, instead he began to pull his shirt over his head, revealing chiseled abs.

Blake just stared, which he seemed to interpret as a good sign, so he proceeded to slowly take her shirt off too in the heat of the moment. In a matter of seconds the situation had changed from the sweet, innocent kiss to this strange, risky, impromptu make-out session.

"Sun..uh, what-“

"Shh," He cut her off, placing a hand on her face, cupping one side. "Relax, Blake."

She sat completely still as he began to rub circles on her side with his cold fingers, placing kisses here and there. Nothing about this situation felt familiar or cozy anymore.

“Is this okay?” He asked, continuing his ministrations.

Blake blinked a few times and gave a quick, uncertain nod. It was just Sun, her _boyfriend_. He seemed to take that nod as permission to go further, seeming to misread her hesitance.

Amber eyes widened a fraction as he began to trail his fingers down to her hips before settling both hands there. He removed one hand to place on her thigh. Blake’s breath hitched in her throat as his fingers began to crawl lower.

"Actually...Sun, stop," She breathed out, with her eyes closed, and clasped his hands with her own, gently placing them on the bedspread. He immediately backed off.

“I thought- I’m sorry.”

Blake didn't open her eyes when he moved. Not until she heard a saddened sigh.

She looked up and saw him, sitting on the edge of her bed, his hand combing through blond locks. He was still half-dressed, only wearing jeans and she could see the gears turning in his head and a look on his face. Not a look of disappointment but of defeat.

Frowning, she crawled closer, until she was next to him. His blue eyes had a saddened tint to them as he shook his head.

"I feel..." He said between another sigh. “Sometimes, I feel like you don’t even want me, Blake.”

Every word felt like a punch to the face. Her ears flattened against her head.

"Sun, I...I do want you...but I just...I can't do this."

"What?" He finally looked up at her. "Have sex with me? Because I don’t even care about that. It’s more than that, I’ve already had this on my mind for a while...I just feel like I’m the only one putting any effort in. I see all of these other couples and how _they_ act and how _they_ look at each other...” He cut himself off, shaking his head.

She remained silent, completely helpless. She didn't know how to fix this.

"It's been a year, Blake. We've been together for one whole year now, yet we haven't done anything more than act like we used to. Like friends. If we wanted to act like we’re just buddies then why agree to be with me? Are you even really...into me? Or....never mind.”

It seemed like that frown would permanently stay on his face.

"It's not because of you. It's because of me. Something is _wrong_ with me, not with you. I just... I can't do this," She explained, her voice shaking as she got up from his bed and quickly put her shirt on.

Before she left, she hesitated for a moment, looking over at him; but she knew there was nothing she could do to make him feel better, so she headed out of the door without saying anything.  
The only thing she heard as she exited was Sun’s quiet: “Drive safe..”

Blake nearly fell down the stairs as she tried to get out as fast as possible and didn't reply to Sun’s mother as she asked why she was already leaving.

All the way home, the only thing that was stuck in her mind was the image of Sun, sitting on his bed with his head hung low.

_What the hell was wrong with me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we haven't seen Sun’s parents (if he even has any) but lets just pretend he does. The author demands it! 
> 
> Sun Wukong is “Monkey King” in Chinese so I’ll let you figure out the names as they come.  
> I wanted the names to connect in a way like Yang “Sunny Little Dragon” and her dad, Tai-Yang. Or like Ren and his parents.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll post this and the next around the same time. Mind you I finished writing both and my sleep deprived self attempted to proof-read at night so let me know if anything is confusing lol
> 
> That’s quarantine life for ya.  
> I dedicate this to the bored peeps at stuck at home. Here, take some bees:

That night Blake couldn't sleep.

All she did was toss and turn in bed, dwelling and pondering and not being able to shut her thoughts out. For one minute she was freezing and pulled the covers all the way up to her chin, then it was too hot and she yanked them off. A few minutes ago, she had also changed into a shorter shirt, feeling like she was burning up. It was a vicious cycle that she couldn't get out of.

She was tired, but at the same time wide awake because of all the thoughts buzzing in her head like an angry swarm of bees.

She thought about Sun and how she was going to apologise. And then she thought about Yang and how weird everything was when she was around. She hated thinking about her, because in the end she was just more confused and even more frustrated than before.

With an annoyed groan, Blake turned onto her back and stared at the dark ceiling. Examining it easily with faunas night vision. The digits on her phone said it was three in the morning. She would be so damn tired at school tomorrow.

After five more minutes she finally got up; she had to move, she’d go crazy if she continued to just lay there in the dark for hours. So she walked over to her window and opened it. The cold night air made her shiver as she looked out onto the deserted road.

Outside, it was dark and quiet, no light in the windows of the neighbor's houses, no sound except the wind whispering through the treetops. The only source of light was the moon pouring a milky glow onto the rooftops and the street lights shedding their artificial brightness.

She took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. Just then, a light along with a flash of bright color pulled up and illuminated the road.

For a second she wondered, if that had been Yang, but that was absurd. Why would she be driving around at this time? She didn't even live here, did she? It was then that she realized that she had no idea where exactly she was from. How could she? A few days ago, Blake wasn't even aware of her existence.

Sighing quietly, she shut the window and leaned her forehead against the cold glass for a moment. The sound of her phone vibrating made her whirl around.

Curious to know who else might still be up and texting her around this time, Blake padded over to where her phone was laying on the bedside table and picked it up. One message from an unknown number. After a moment's hesitation, she opened it:

**>** _Soo what are you doing up so late, kitten?_

Her eyes widened as she stared down at her phone. Then typed:  
 **<** _How the hell did you get my number, Yang?_

**>** _I have my sources ;)_

Blake snorted quietly and replied with:

**<** _Got nothing better to do than driving around at night? Sleeping around, getting drunk, picking a fight with someone in a dark alley, maybe? Sounds like something you'd probably be into._

It didn't even take a minute for her to reply.  
 **>** _Ouch. Been there, done that, you know, the usual. Anyway, whatcha doing up? Thinking about me, right?_

Blake was aware she was joking but was taken aback by how accurate that assumption was, but then she just typed:

**<** _Suuure. I bet you would just love that, wouldn't you?_

Again, she immediately responded.  
 **>** _Don't lie, Belladonna... also, get some rest. Night. x_

A little smile tucked at her lips as she read the ‘x’. How very bad girl-ish.

**<** _Good night, Yang._

After sending that last message, she put the phone away, slipped back under the covers and closed her eyes.

Somehow she felt calmer now, more at ease, and soon she finally drifted into a dreamless, comfortable sleep.

+++

"Blake, wait!"

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, waiting for Weiss to catch up. They were running late for school ( _again_ ) to Weiss’ dismay. She had only just pulled up to the parking lot and headed straight for the school building, hoping not to bump into Sun. At least, not right now.

"Hey." Weiss said breathlessly, giving a curt nod as a greeting. "Where's that monkey-tailed buffoon?"

"How would I know?" Blake asked dryly, and pushed through the doors with the snow-haired girl. The question came out sounding harsher than she had intended, prompting Weiss to shoot her a surprised look.

"Well, he _is_ your boyfriend so I figured you'd know."

"We haven't talked since yesterday. I don't think he wants anything to do with me right now, anyways," Blake sighed. She couldn't really blame him for some things. After all, a relationship should be 100/100 not 50/50.

She just...didn't know what was wrong with her. It almost seemed _easier_ when they were just friends. Now, it wasn't as effortless as she’d thought it’d be.

Weiss’ face slowly transformed into a frown as she asked: "Blake, what did you do?" She sounded like a disappointed mother that had caught her demon-children fighting.

"None of your business."

"Oh, come on," Weiss said, rolling her eyes at her behavior. "You're acting odd.”

By now they had reached Blake’s locker and she fumbled with the lock. "Fine," She said as she pulled out some books she’d need today, "We had a disagreement yesterday. More precisely: I didn't want to have sex with him, he got the wrong idea, and told me how he felt.”

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know! I don't really get why he bottled all of this up and is only telling me just _now_.”

Weiss just shook her head, making her ponytail sway. "No, that's not what I mean. I’m not saying you _should_ , it’s your choice, but what was bothering you? What stopped you?" She questioned softly. "You’ve known him for a long time and you both most likely have two _very_ different ideas of your relationship.”

Blake just stared at her and slammed the door of her locker shut. "I don't know, okay? It just didn't seem right in that moment."

"But...you love him, right?"

"Yeah," She said quietly, weakly.

"Huh," Weiss murmured. "Well, I'm sure you two will figure it out sooner or later. I mean, you never fight."

She nodded, even though she was wasn’t sure if it wouldn't be that simple. Sun had been a little hurt yesterday and storming out on him surely hadn't helped either.

Looking back at the events of yesterday, she felt horrible. He doesn't deserve all the indecisiveness, not after everything he had helped her through.

With that guilty feeling still present in her stomach, she walked to her next class.

"Oh, no no no no," Blake whined as soon as she stepped through the door and glanced around the class room.

"What? Yang?" Weiss asked from behind her and craned her neck to see what she was looking at.

How she had been able to guess that so accurately just from her reaction she didn't know, but she was right. In the middle of the room was Yang, leaning casually against a table while she was talking to a couple of people, mainly Pyrrha, Jaune and...Flynt ( _at least, she thinks that was his name, she didn't take band but she knew he always had a trumpet_ )

Sun was sitting only a few desks behind Yang, but he wasn't looking in Blake’s direction.

"What _is_ going on with you and Yang anyway?" Weiss asked and sent her a curious look while walking towards a table in the back of the room.

Blake followed her, keeping her head down to avoid being spotted by Yang, but of course she saw anyway. The faunas immediately looked away as she winked at her.

"Nothing whatsoever. What do you mean?"

Weiss just raised a thin eyebrow. "Well, there's obviously _something_ going on between the two of you. Why are you so eager to avoid her?”

"Because she acts like her life’s purpose is to fuck with me. I'm just annoyed by her and her...her smirks and dumb jokes and pick up lines and that stupid smug look on her stupid dumb face..."

"Pick up lines?" Weiss pointed out before she could finish the sentence. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she looked at her. She seemed absolutely confused. "She used pick up lines on you?"

Trying to seem unbothered despite feeling a little uneasy, Blake replied: "Yeah, so? Doesn't she flirt with, like, _everyone_? I’m pretty sure she doesn't discriminate.”

Weiss still kept that perplexed look. "Not that it’s an issue, but you said you were straight. You also have a boyfriend. Why would she flirt with you?"

"How would I know? I barely even know the girl!” She snapped. Secondly, I don’t think thats how casual flirting works.” 

Raising her hands in defeat, Weiss said: "Blake..all I'm saying is, you can’t blame me for being confused. It seems counterproductive that she’s trying to obtain someone that she _clearly_ can't get."

Before she said it, Blake had never actually _thought_ about it like that. To her it always seemed like Yang was the unattainable one, the one with the expensive bike and the good looks, not to mention the dozens of girls and boys who would probably sell their soul to the devil for just one night with the the bombshell blonde.

"I doubt she actually wants me, though.” Blake eventually said. "She flirts with everyone and her flirtations to me are just jokes. She just likes to get a rise out of me and loves bothering me because it amuses her. It’s all in jest.”

Weiss didn't too seem convinced, but before she could open her mouth to reply, their Biology teacher cleared his throat.

Mr- (well, _Doctor_ , as he liked to be called) Doctor Oobleck was tall, with messy dark green hair, and an overall pale guy. His attire consisted of a disheveled white collard shirt, yellow tie, and a pair of wide circular glasses on his face. Judging by how jittery he is and his outfit, he looked more like he should be a mad scientist.

Also known as: he was fucking _crazy_

As he began to speak, his eccentric and extremely fast voice echoed loudly through the room. "Good morning, students!” Oobleck paused to take a sip of his coffee.

“For those of you who don't know me yet, I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck! I'll be teaching Biology this year! A fascinating subject indeed. The topics for this year can be read on these information sheets that you can pick up at the end of this class...” He said and pointed at some papers on his desk.

"So! Let’s get to it children! First things first, I divided you into pairs of two. You'll be working together for the rest of this year. And no: partners will not be chosen nor will you change my mind about said subject. Now hop to it!”

Blake could've sworn there was a sly sadistic smile forming on his face as he listened to the annoyed groaning of the students, It was difficult to see so she couldn't be sure.

"The pairs will be: Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina...Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie... Jaune Arc and Lie Ren...Ivori Blanco and Flynt Coal... Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna..."

Blake instantly sat bolt upright as she heard her name called along with Yang’s. A glance at the blonde told her that she didn't mind them being paired up not one bit, on the contrary; she was leaning back in her chair with a wide grin tugging at her lips.

Before she could overthink whether or not this was a good idea, her hand shot up.

"Yes?" Oobleck asked, looking at her.

"Could I..maybe..change partners? Please?"

A furrow appeared between his brows. "As I just said, child, that is not an option. I'm sure you and Yang will get along just fine.”

"It's not that, it's just-"

"We actually get along _too_ well," Yang said loudly. We were probably partners in another life. She gets real distracted by me."

Laughter echoed through the class room. Blake could immediately feel her cheeks heating up and turned around to glare at Yang. She just smiled smugly and sent her an innocent wave.

"I'm sure that Ms. Belladonna can get herself under control," Doctor Oobleck said, looking somewhat amused. "You'll be sharing a tent with your partner on the field trip. You may all sit next to your assigned partner at this time.”

Blake sighed resignedly as Weiss got up and walked off, not without patting her back comfortingly. With her eyes fixed on the front of the class room, she waited for Yang to inevitably slump into the seat nearby.

The next thing she felt was Yang’s breath tickling her skin as she leaned in close and whispered seductively: "Hey there, _partner_.”

Blake settled for ignoring her.

"Come on, at least look at me."

Again, she didn't react until she suddenly felt a hand on her knee. Blake’s entire body stiffened under her touch and her breath hitched for just a second, but she still refused to spare her even the tiniest glance.

"Aw, stop being so stubborn, kitten, I need my daily dose of attention," she muttered jokingly.

"Why?"

She remained silent for a moment before she said: "You know what? I haven't looked at them long enough until now, but your eyes are _really_ beautiful.”

Blake’s head snapped up and she stared at her in a mixture of surprise and confusion, then immediately cursed herself for falling for a cheap trick like that.

Their faces were only mere inches apart and Blake could see every little detail in her eyes. She hadn't noticed before, but her lilac irises had little specks of gold in it: like her eyes held an entire galaxy with stars that shined as bright as she did.

_Okay, these intrusive thoughts have got to stop._

"Um, yours too," She said, without even thinking about the words that left her mouth.

Yang’s face brightly lit up and for a second, her dimples showed.

"I-I mean, they're purple. Purple is  
good. I like purple. Purple is a nice color...my room is purple," Blake babbled, backtracking.

Yang chuckled quietly. "Right."

Before she could blurt out any more rambling nonsense, Oobleck began talking again.

Yang pulled her hand back and she could _finally_ breathe normally again.

Now that she was really looking at her, she could see the dark circles under the blonde’s eyes. She looked just as tired as Blake felt, if not more.

"So, what have _you_ been up to last night?" She asked curiously.

Yang seemed to hold back a smile as she replied: "Nothing special. What about you? Three o' clock seems like it's a little past your bedtime."

"I couldn't sleep, that's all."

"Is there a specific reason for that?"

"No," She lied, but of course her defensive tone of voice didn't go unnoticed.

"Blake, you’re a bad liar. Just spill. I hear talking about things can help," Yang pressed, her lilac gaze never leaving her face.

"As if you care."

The trademarked smug expression on Yang’s face dropped. The rest of the period passed in awkward silence and she was relieved when the bell finally rang.

Yang left without another word, as Blake quickly caught up with Weiss

"Did you see where Sun went?" She inquired.

Sun had been in their Biology class, but now she couldn't see him anywhere. She still needed to talk to him about what had happened.

"Yes. I think he was headed towards the cafeteria as well."

Nodding, Blake walked out into the corridor, making her way to the cafeteria. It didn't take long at all to spot him there, he had a tail after all; he was sitting with his friends at the table they usually occupied.

"It’ll work out," Weiss muttered softly before she headed towards the snack bar.

She reluctantly made her way to Sun’s table and sat down on the only free seat, which was, who would've guessed, next to Sun.

He didn't look up as she sat down, but she could see his body tensing. Blake lightly brushed her hand against his bicep, his blue eyes finally found amber. For the first time, she couldn't read the look in them.

"Uh, I'm-," She began, but immediately got cut off by him.

"Don't," he said quietly, his hands fiddling with the lid of his water bottle. “Are we _really_ gonna break up in the middle of a cafeteria, dude?”

"What?" She queried. "No, that's not- That's not why I'm here. I... I wanted to say sorry. For how I acted yesterday."

A little bit of tension seemed to leave his body. "No, _I'm_ sorry," he said in a serious tone. "I went too far yesterday. I should’ve read you better. You weren’t ready and I shouldn't have assumed why. I understand that. We can take our time."

_Yeah. A misunderstanding. That’s all it was. Sun loves me and Sun is a good guy. He’s familiar. It’s what you’re supposed to do._

A relieved sigh escaped her lips. "Thank you," She whispered and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I think we both got things confused yesterday, but I think I understand now. I didn't realize you wanted to go that far in the first place. If you really want to...I...we can."

He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Really?"

Blake nodded, fighting the urge to tense up and gulp nervously. _It’s better to just to do things faster than the speed your brain will process it, right? To get it over with._

"Okay," He smiled and kissed her sweetly.

And that was that. At least for now.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, mom," Blake shouted into the hallway once she returned home from school and threw her bag into the corner.

"Blake! Where have you been? You weren't home all afternoon!" she scolded, hands on her hips, ears folded downwards, as she stepped out of the kitchen to see her.

"Yeah, I know," She said, thoughtlessly twirling a strand of hair on her finger, "I was at Sun’s.”

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Blake sighed, but answered: "I didn't think you'd be home already."

Knowing exactly why her mom was always acting so worried, she tried not to get too annoyed by it. Still, her overbearing, overprotective nature could make her feel smothered at times.

"Fine. Just make sure to at least text me next time. Dinner is almost ready."

"Okay. Thanks, mom," She said and hastily kissed her cheek as she walked past her.

A small smile formed on her face as Kali gently ruffled her hair on her way to the staircase.

As soon as she entered her room, she flung herself onto her bed and closed her eyes. Today had been weird and eventful: first the thing with Yang being her new partner in Biology and her tent mate on the field trip, then the sudden reconciliation with Sun.

Especially, the thought of sharing a tent with Yang for three nights bothered her. It would definitely be...interesting.

Sighing quietly, she got up from her bed and decided she’d have a shower before dinner. After stripping off her clothes and tossing them onto the bed, she stepped into the little bathroom that was linked directly to her room.

For solid ten minutes she just enjoyed the feeling of the warm water raining down on her and loosening the tension in her shoulders. Afterwards, she just ran her fingers through her long dark curls to untangle them a bit and put on some shorts and an old tank top, her usual get-up whenever she was at home.

By the time she left the bathroom, her mother was already shouting for her to come downstairs for dinner. Yelling back an answer, she rushed down the stairs and entered the kitchen, only to see that her giant beast of a father was already sitting at the table, currently stuffing his mouth with steak and potatoes.

"Hi, dad," Blake greeted and sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the table.

Ghira only replied with a warm smile and a nod. He was still wearing his suit that he had to wear for his new job. Her dad worked as a lawyer(He handles a majority of faunas cases, making sure they receive fair trials and treatment. Faunas tended to be the main ones getting locked up and mainly its for a misdemeanor or no reason at all)  
Ghira has been supporting faunas rights since he was little. He was the one who inspired Blake to want to make a change in the world too. No matter how small.

Kali was a teacher. When they were in Menagerie they took in homeless faunas kids, Kali taught them everything they’d need educationally. “As a faunas, you’re never safe. Not only do you need book-smarts, you also need street-smarts.” That’s the reason why she spent a lot of time at home, preparing her lessons, while Blake studied, and she barely saw her dad around the house. Maybe helping those kids made her want to teach.

That was Ghira and Kali alright: justice and education. Helping at least one faunas one day at a time.

For a few minutes they just ate in silence, until her mom looked up from her plate and said: "Blake, could you do me a favor please?"

She quickly swallowed a bite. "Sure. Like what?”

"Last Sunday I helped at that flea market, at the cafeteria..." Kali started, referring to one of the charity actions she sometimes did for the local church. "Summer was there, too and she forgot her cake server there...Would you be so kind as to bring it back to her after dinner?"

"Wait, who's Summer?" She asked with a small frown.

"Oh, I assumed you'd know her since her eldest is attending the same school as you... She's living down the road, right in the first house."

"Why don't you just bring it back to her?"

One corner of her mouth curled down. Blake knew that face, she always made it when she talked about someone she didn't like. "Well, we're not really on good terms at the moment," she said. "We just disagree on certain things.”

"But I thought she was helping with the charity stuff?"

She shook her head impatiently. "No, you don't understand. She's just helping there a few times a year. I think she has her daughter watch the house when she goes off to who-knows-where with the other. She's not really active in the community."

Wait she has a sister?  
Oh yeah, she did remember Weiss saying something like that before. 

She had forgotten about that.

Oh god, ONE of them is enough. The mere thought of the possibility of there being two Yangs made her want to bang her head against the wall.

But Blake was pretty sure she’d notice anyone resembling Yang pretty easily. It’s not like lilac was a common eye color around here. So at least she could avoid Yang The Second for now.

"Maybe she's just busy with other things?" Blake suggested, pulling herself from her thoughts.

The problem with her parents was that they could get wary around humans without even realizing it. They were good people who just got the brunt of life as a faunas. They liked to see what they were working with before befriending someone.

“Look before you leap” They always say.

An annoyed expression spread across her mom’s face. "Then she should make time. This is more important than any of her nonsense!"

"Either way, it's not relevant to the topic right now," Ghira suddenly cut in, setting down his glass of wine. "Just run this little errand for your mother, Blake, Okay?”

"Okay," She sighed, trying not to sound too irritated, and got to her feet. "Where's that cake server?"

Kali just pointed at the kitchen counter with an unreadable face. She fetched the cake server and left the kitchen without another word. In the hallway, she quickly slipped into her sneakers, deciding not to make the effort to change into actual clothes. Summer was probably just one of these other strange old ladies that owned a bunch of cats, wore aprons over flower dresses and had nothing else to do than to bake cakes for charity events, like most of the women her mom was around. Blake doubted she would care that she was ringing her door wearing only shorts and a tank top.

Since it was only a short distance, she also neglected wearing a jacket and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.

Out here everything was calm and quiet, like it usually was in parts of Vale, like the type of pristine suburb Blake lived in. The road was already lit by street lamps every few feet, despite the sun only just going down. In a few windows, she could see the flickering light of a television, others were already hidden behind curtains, concealing what was going on inside.

She didn't encounter a single person on her way down the street, everyone was inside and probably getting ready for bed already. In this area, it seemed like life just paused at seven in the evening, when everyone returned to their picture-perfect homes, until the next ordinary day began in the morning.

The house her mom had described was only a two minute walk away. It was a huge house with a porch and a big yard in front, bigger than most others around here. She had never really paid attention to it, but now she was honestly kind of intimidated by the size of the property.

Taking a deep breath, Blake stepped onto the yard and walked up to the white front door, somehow feeling extremely nervous all of a sudden. Her nerves peaked the moment she rang the doorbell.

It took a few seconds for the door to open, but when it did and she could see who was standing there before her, She almost screamed.

Are you kidding me?!

"Hey..." Yang greeted, one eyebrow raised.

"Uh... hi," She muttered, giving her a quick once-over.

First thing she noticed was that she put her hair up in a messy bun, the few loose strands closer to her face hung free. She was barefoot, and only clad in...she was only wearing a jacket! Only the jacket. And to top it all off, it was Blake’s super comfy jacket. The jacket was big enough to cover her up well but it still left little to the imagination. Blake just prayed she had the decency to put underwear on.

Under her attentive gaze she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious, painfully aware of her own clothes and the way her hair probably looked, still wet and all over the place. She was pretty sure she looked like a hot mess of an idiot standing there with the darn cake server in one hand.

But Yang didn't laugh. Instead she said, eyes bright with amusement: "Do you know that you’re making it pretty hard to think straight right now."

"Uhm, why are you wearing my hoodie?" Blake questioned, speaking the first thing that came to mind and ignoring that horrible pun.

Yang just shrugged. "It's comfy. Why? D’you want me to take it off?" Her smirk widened.

"No," She immediately answered. "No, that's not what I meant-"

"Calm down," Yang laughed. Then she pointed at the cake server in my hand. "I suppose you wanted to bring this to my mom?"

You are right Yang! And now I want nothing more than to curl up and die. "Yeah."

Yang stepped out onto the porch, closer to Blake, and took the cake server out of her hand. After she carelessly tossed it into a drawer in the corridor behind her, she said: "Well, thanks for stopping by."

Blake just nodded. For some reason her heart was beating twice as fast and she could feel her hands shaking, and not just from the cold.

"Why are you always so anxious?" Yang suddenly asked, something that looked like genuine curiosity flickering across her features, and maybe a little concern?

"Only when you're around," She replied truthfully. Something was wrong with her voice; the words came out sounding breathless, husky.

Lilac eyes softened. "You don't have to feel that way. Around me, I mean." She offered.

Blake didn't know how to reply to that, so she just kept her mouth shut.

"Actually, I think you-" Yang began, but stopped mid-sentence as the lights of a car suddenly lit up the yard.

Blake turned around only to see Nebula Violette, a girl she knew from some of her classes who also had a very promiscuous reputation, getting out of her car. Nebula was tall(still shorter than Yang) and skinny, with pretty olive green eyes and indigo-colored hair. She was also known for having a slight attitude problem, so there was good reason she was a little intimidated by her.

"Would you look at that," Yang said. Her voice had suddenly changed, from the softer, sincere tone she had just spoken in to the arrogant bullshit Blake was used to. "My date of the week.”

"Date of the week?" She asked, shaking her head slightly in confusion.

"Sure. Sometimes I call people to come over for a few nights a week when I have the place to myself and we hang out. It's always pretty fun."

Fighting down the sick feeling in her stomach, she watched as Nebula neared them, until she came to a halt next to Blake.

"What's she doing here?" The purple-haired girl asked Yang instead of a greeting, not even really looking at Blake.

"Oh, she just-" Yang began, but Blake cut her off.

"I was just about to leave," She said, her voice sounding surprisingly firm considering the state she was in right now. "Bye."

Yang stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "Okay. See you around?”

Blake wordlessly turned around and walked away as quickly as possible without actually running, just wanting to leave Yang and Nebula and this entire bizarre situation behind. 

When she turned around once more, the last thing she saw was Yang pushing Nebula against the wall next to the front door, her hands locked behind Nebula’s neck while she was kissing her roughly. The same roughness you’d use with a pencil, when you want something erased.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spooki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Bees for my fellow quarantined.
> 
> STAY HOME! And lets be #Alone Together.
> 
> I’ve been bored so don’t mind me constantly uploading Bees. Praise Beesus.
> 
> Also no idea why it ended up spaced out like this but eh I’ll try to fix it

After what she had witnessed a few days before, sharing a tent with Yang on the field trip was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Still, the trip was obligatory for all students, which was why she found herself dragging her suitcase across the camping site along with the rest of the class.

"Here we are," Yang announced and ripped open the zipper that kept the tent shut.

They had arrived at the camping site about ten minutes ago and had been sent to move into the tents after a brief assembly.

The tent was red, so the dim light inside was tinted the same color. The tent itself wasn't very big; there was only room for two sleeping mats and sleeping bags, and a little bit of space on both sides where they could put their backpacks.

"The last time I was in a place with this kind of mood lighting there were more girls and they had considerably less clothing on. While I'm okay with guys too, I think it'd only be appropriate if you'd at least take off your shirt," Yang joked, flashing her a smirk while she sprawled lazily on her sleeping bag. “It’s only fair.”

Blake slumped down on her sleeping mat next to hers. There really wasn't much space separating them, no way to escape her lingering gaze. "Are you ever going to stop saying stuff like that?" She groaned and closed her eyes. "You do realize that I'm straight, right?"

Next to her, Yang chuckled lightly. "That's what I said too, until I kissed a girl and liked it."

"Well, I kissed a boy and liked it."

"Okay, I get it," she laughed. "We can talk about something you're more comfortable with."

_Was she actually being considerate?_ She opened her eyes in surprise to steal a quick look at the blonde. She was laying next to her, propped up on one elbow as she watched Blake with an unreadable expression.

"-About how much I hate bugs for example," Yang quickly proceeded as the silence dragged on for far too long and pointed at the tent opening. "That stays closed. I’ll be damned if I allow anything to get in my hair.”

"Are you serious?" She asked. "You're scared of bugs?"

"Well I don’t like them," she replied impatiently. "Just don't open that unless you have to."

Blake nodded and tried not to laugh at the look of actual worry on her face.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, and what’s so funny about that?”

"I didn't say anything," She replied and struggled to keep a straight face.

"Is that how it is?" Yang narrowed her eyes at the faunas.

"Never."

"I’ll remember that.”

"Go ahead," She grinned.

Before she could answer, the sound of a whistle rang from across the camping site, along with Dr. Oobleck yelling for everybody to meet at the fireplace.

She and Yang crawled out of the tent and made their way there. While she went to sit with her friends, Blake took her place next to Weiss. Sun was sitting with his friends and greeted her with a smile and a short wave.

"Blake. How is it going with Yang?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I only had the urge to punch her in her incredibly straight teeth around six times in the last few minutes, so that's good, I guess."

"Her teeth are the only thing straight about her..." Weiss commented, glancing over at the blonde.

"You’re not wrong."

In the next few minutes the area around the fireplace began to fill with students, until there wasn't any space left on the benches and they had to sit on the grass. On the opposite side of the fireplace Blake could see Pyrrha laying on Yang, her head resting comfortably against her shoulder. Nebula was sitting on the ground in front of them with a grumpy expression.

"Do you think there's something going on between Pyrrha and Yang?" Weiss asked, intently looking at them.

"I'm not sure," Blake thoughtfully answered.. "Sometimes they seem real close but that'd be weird seeing as Yang’s still..seeing other people... Maybe they're friends with benefits?"

Weiss frowned. "I don't believe that. Pyrrha doesn't seem like the kind of girl to agree to something like that."

She couldn't hold back an amused grin. "You think? I didn't realize you knew her so well."

"I don't," she admitted. "I'd like to, though. She seems nice."

"Nice," Blake echoed with a chuckle. "Sure.”

Weiss shifted around uncomfortably. "Why are you looking at me like that?”

Blake raised an eyebrow to the distressed tone of voice. "What-“

"Actually, never mind," she interrupted sternly. "Any who, I dont see what all the hubbub is about. This is why I don’t partake in something as silly as a relationship. We’re just surrounded by hormonal teenagers-“

The teachers spared Blake the wrath of her rant as they stepped into the middle of the circle and started talking.

"Alright, quiet down!" a slim, tanned woman with light blond hair shouted, eyeing every single one of them with one hand on her hip until it was finally quiet.

"Wow," Weiss whispered. "She’s worse than my sister.”

"You can call me Robyn, because ‘Ms. Hill’ makes me sound old.” she said. "I'll be the female go-to person for you, girls. If you have a problem, you can come to me." She paused for a moment, waiting for some murmurs to die down. "So, the plan for tonight will be as following: At first you'll have time to explore this camping site. But, and this is the most important rule for the next few days: do not leave the camping site without express permission. Do you understand?"

Everyone muttered in agreement until she continued: "Afterwards we'll have dinner...that'll be in thirty minutes, and when that's over we’ll have a little night hike. We don't care when you go to bed, but you aren't allowed to leave your tents anytime after midnight. Unless you want to use the bathroom, of course. Are we clear?"

Again everyone nodded. "Good. Get out of here then.”

Blake and Weiss got up along with all the others, but didn't come very far, as Ms. Hill-er-Robyn suddenly pointed a finger at them. "Black Cat! Snow White!" she shouted after both girls, beckoning them over to her.

Blake exchanged a puzzled look with her friend. 

_Had we done something wrong? Already?_

"Yes?" The faunas asked nervously.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not punishing you or anything," she said and, to both their surprise, laughed lightly. "I just want to talk about the night hike. It's a tradition that every year, a few students follow the group and scare them when they walk past the old cemetery. You girls want in on that?” Then she glanced at Blake specifically. “You look like you know a thing or two about stealth.”

"Uhm, sure," she said after exchanging a quick look with Weiss. It could be fun. "Will anyone else be with us?"

"Yep. Oobleck will be there too, just follow him as soon as the group leaves the camping site." Robyn looked at them, waiting for any more questions. When neither of the girls said anything, she nodded briefly. "Alright. See you around. And don't go too far with the prank, got it?”

"That woman could be a politician," Weiss stated, impressed, as soon as she was out of earshot. "Also, how would we even scare them? We’re not exactly... _scary_.”

"Jump from a bush and scream bloody murder?"

Weiss sent her a blank stare. "The only thing scary about that is your lack of imagination. I have a better plan: How about we lure some people away from the group? They'll be terrified to suddenly find themselves alone."

Blake laughed, not at all concerned about how quickly she came up with that or that scarily determined look in her blue eyes.

Weiss was not one for childish things most of the time, but Blake supposed she’d just feed off of the misery of her peers.

+++

About two hours and a bowl of overcooked noodles later, everyone left the camping site for the night hike. Some were carrying flashlights with them. She and Weiss had their own, too, seeing as the sun was about to go down.

"Are you ready?” Oobleck asked. His eyes were gleaming with glee for the poor students he'd be scaring tonight.

"I think" She said. "Where do we have to go?"

He motioned for them to follow. "I know a shortcut we can take, so we can wait for them at the cemetery."

The walk there took about ten minutes, then they reached the huge gates of the cemetery. Behind it Blake could see some tombstones, protruding from the graves like fingers reaching for the night sky.

"What are you waiting for, children?Spread out!" Oobleck asked and laughed maniacally as he saw the look on their faces. Then he walked past them, disappearing in the dark behind the gates. 

She tapped Weiss’ shoulder. "You realize that if there was some serial killer out here, that they’d get you first right?”

Weiss scowled. "Ha. Ha.”

With that, she followed after The Mad Scientist, leaving Blake to her own devices.

"That wasn't very _proper_ of you, Weiss.” She shouted after her before following behind.

Blake wasn't particularly scared of cemeteries; she actually didn't mind them. Still, she couldn't deny that being here, alone and in the dark, was giving her chills.

Hurrying past some gravestones, she looked for a good hiding spot. Eventually, she decided to wait by the small chapel. The others would walk right past it, but if she could duck into an alcove, they probably wouldn't even be able to see her.

So there she was, waiting with her back pressed against the wall of the chapel, which was still warm from the fading daylight. Blake glanced at her phone, realizing that if Oobleck’s calculations were right, the group would be here in only about two minutes.

And it was true: shortly after, she could hear voices coming closer, the excited chattering of students. She pressed even harder against the wall and hoped they wouldn't shine their flashlights in her direction. She didn't dare breathe, not wanting anyone to spot her before she could set the plan into action.

Luckily, the majority of them walked past without even one of them noticing a shadow lurking around. Either the faunas of the group didn't look or just didn't care. After them, followed only small groups of people, others were walking all on their own. Those were the ones she was looking out for, easy targets that she could get without anyone else noticing.

For some reason, she actually weirdly started to get into this, she realized, as she was watching unknowing classmates near closer. Just three more people were to come by and she would have to decide who of them she should pick.

Shortly before they reached the spot, one of them stopped and bent down to tie their shoe laces. The others didn't wait long and kept on walking.

This was her opportunity. Whoever the person was, they were alone and unaware of her presence. With her vision, she could easily tell it was a girl.

Blake waited patiently, until she was done tying her shoelaces and stood upright again. She advanced quickly, walking in long strides, until she was right next to her hiding spot.

Taking a deep breath, she reached for her, pressing one hand over her mouth to muffle the surprised outcry, and pulled her into the chapel.

The darkness inside was pitch-black and all-consuming...for a human. So Blake suspected it was impossible for her to recognize her. Even if she _was_ a human and couldn't see, it all hit her at once: that citrusy fucking perfume.

Blake blinked into the darkness for a moment, only to see that she was right. It was Yang, blinking back at her in surprise.

"..Blake?" she asked. Her voice echoed loudly through the chapel, bouncing off the walls around them. By now her eyes had adjusted well enough to the darkness to be able to distinguish her and a confused look formed on her face.

A red hot wave of embarrassment suddenly took a hold of her. "What?" Blake asked, her voice oddly high-pitched. "No. I'm... the...groundskeeper?"

"Okay, as flattered as I am that you wanted some alone time in this little chapel, I'm still a _tiny_ bit confused.” Yang snickered. “So, we making out or what?”

"I don't want to make out with you!"

Yang’s gaze travelled to where Blake’s hands were still resting on her shoulders, pushing the blonde against the brick wall behind her. Blake pulled them back immediately, as if she had touched a hot stove.

"You don’t sound so sure," she whispered in her ear, her voice dark and _extremely_ inappropriate.

Where her breath fanned against Blake’s skin, hot flames seemed to linger. She felt her face heating up and was suddenly very glad that Yang couldn't see as well as she, hoping the dark concealed the blushing of her cheeks.

"I am," The faunas said, but it came out sounding weak, shaky.

"But are you sure you’re sure?” Yang purred. Her body pressed even harder against hers.

Her brain seemed to be malfunctioning, the only thoughts that surfaced were highly conflicting questions repeating over and over again, like a broken record. Ones she didn't have an answer to.

"I’m starting to think that you’re one of those girls who secretly moonlights as a phone sex operator," Blake heard herself saying. Then immediately wished for the ground to open up and swallow her whole the second the words left her mouth.

Yang burst into laughter immediately. Blake awkwardly stepped back, giving her enough space to walk past.

"You’re cute," she declared before making her way to the door, stepping outside into the chilly night.”Looks like I have a summer job after all!”

She expected Yang to just leave and head back to camp, but was surprised as the door suddenly swung open again.

"Blake," she said, in a strangely alarmingly tone of voice. "Little problem.”

"What are you talking about?"

The blonde gestured for her to follow. She did, until they were standing outside in the graveyard again. Everything was quiet, completely abandoned.

"Everyone left," Blake realized. "I have no idea how to get back to camp... Do you?"

Yang’s only reply was a quiet groan and a shaking of her head before she stomped off into the general direction of the cemetery gates, not looking to see if the faunas was following. 

“Mother _fucker_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a sorta longer chapter for you guys coming too btw cuz why not
> 
> You deserve it
> 
> Binge Bees and stay safe!


	9. Chapter 9

Blake eyed the gate, trying to estimate if they’d be able to climb over it.

"Forget it," Yang dismissed her as her eyes followed her glance, "That won't work. It's too high. Besides, have you seen the spikes at the top?"

She looked up and saw that she was indeed correct; there were metal spikes preventing anyone from climbing over the gates. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose, looking more than annoyed by now. "So what's the plan now?"

"Find a place to stay?" She suggested.

"..Right...Back to the chapel?"

"Back to the chapel."

They made their way there in silence. When something cracked loudly in the bushes next to Blake, she nearly screamed, her left hand instinctively reaching out to grab Yang’s arm.

Yang just snorted and they continued walking, this time with Blake practically clinging to her sleeve. "Blake, you're gonna give me a bruise squeezing my arm like that. And I prefer bruises in other places."

She let go of her immediately. 

Fortunately, they reached the chapel and she didn't have to bother thinking of a response.

Shuddering a little, Blake opened the door and entered, Yang following close behind. Inside, it was a few degrees warmer for sure, and soon her teeth had stopped chattering.

Yang walked over to the benches, sliding into one of them and simply laying down with her arms folded behind her head. She hesitantly followed and laid down on the bench on the opposite side, still able to look at her.

The blonde played around with the flashlight in her hand, the light aimlessly dancing across the ceiling.

"You should turn that off," Blake said lazily and closed her eyes. "Those batteries don't last very long."

She sighed and as Blake cracked open one eye, she could see that Yang had in fact turned it off, so now they were left in complete darkness, to Yang’s dismay.

"Ya think there‘s any spiders in here?" Blake heard her asking after a few minutes of silence. Her voice sounded genuinely worried.

"I actually think I saw a few crawling around over where you are," She replied, smirking in the dark.

Yang’s reaction was immediate, a quiet whimper that made her laugh.

Then the sound of shuffling of feet filled the room and seconds later, she was standing at the end of Blake’s bench. "Move over," she hissed.

"Seriously, Yang?" She asked. "I was kidding."

"I'm not taking any chances. C’mon move."

She reluctantly did as she was told, making a little room for her so she could fit next to her.

Yang sat down, knees pulled up and her head rolling back to lean against the bench. "I didn't expect the night to progress _quite_ like this."

"Me either," Blake said. After a moment, she added: "I'm kind of glad you're here, though. I think it'd be much scarier if I were on my own."

The blonde nodded. "I get it. And you’re not the _worst_ person to be stuck here with."

She opened my mouth to reply sarcastically, but before she could get anything out, the sound of the door squeaking open interrupted her thoughts.

She and Yang both got to their feet immediately, looking over at the figures entering. Blake couldn't see anything as a flashlight shone directly into her amber eyes, but recognized their voices.

"Jesus, there you are!" Pyrrha exclaimed. Blake could hear her shoes clattering towards them.

"What are you doing in here?" Jaune added. He finally directed his flashlight elsewhere, and after blinking a couple of times, She could see them standing before them.

Yang snorted. "Took you long enough. How'd you find out we were gone?"

Jaune jerked his chin in Blake’s direction. "Sun almost had a panic attack when he tried to say goodnight to her and she wasn't in her tent. Dr.Oobleck came with us to look for you."

"Where is he now?" Blake asked.

"Waiting outside," Ren spoke up. "He is not too happy that you went missing."

He was definitely right about that; Oobleck gave them a tongue-lashing as soon as they stepped out onto the cemetery _and_ the entire way back to camp, where they had to listen to the exact same reprimands from Robyn as well.

Blake and Yang both heaved a relieved sigh when they were sent back to their tent.

Dressed in pajama pants and shirt, Blake crawled into her sleeping bag.

Yang was still getting changed, but returned to the tent shortly after.

"Night, Blake," she spoke softly as she sank into her own sleeping bag. "We should do this again sometime. Hanging out together, I mean. _Without_ getting lost in a cemetery and all that."

"Yeah," She agreed, already half asleep. "I think I'd like that."

+++

Sleeping outside always sounds all romantic and fun and adventurous, but Blake could tell you one thing: waking up to the sound of a freaking annoying bird next to your tent, with everything being damp from the dew and you freezing in the cold is none of those things.

She quickly snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag after she woke up and enjoyed the warmth of the pillow her cheek was resting on.

That was until she realized she hadn't brought a pillow.

Amber eyes snapped open and Blake nearly screeched as she found her head resting on Yang, whose arm was flung across her middle. Her heart started racing immediately as she slowly became aware of the situation she was in.

_Too close. WAY too close._

Blake tried to inch away from her without disturbing the blonde, but she just groaned, half asleep, and pulled her closer. 

Frozen in shock, she stared at the red wall of the tent, trying to figure out what to do now. She had to find a way to get away from her without her noticing the position they were in, because if she did, Blake would never hear the end of it.

After a few seconds, she got an idea. It was kind of cruel, but this was an emergency. Plus, if it worked out the way she expected, it would probably be pretty amusing.

So she sneaked one arm out of the sleeping bag, careful not to move too much so she wouldn't wake her up, and lightly began to tickle the arm that was wrapped around her. 

Then she quietly spoke into her ear: "Yang? Uhm, I don't wanna alarm you, but...There's a _huge_ spider on your arm." Blake continued the light tickling her arm. 

Yang suddenly shot up, ram-rod straight at the speed of light, while Blake quickly retracted her hand and hid it behind her back. 

Before she could even blink Yang was already out of the tent.

Blake poked her head out and watched as she jumped around, frantically slapping her arm. 

"Oh my God, where did it go? WHERE DID IT GO?" The blonde panicked, never stopping her attempts to shake the non-existent spider off her arm. 

The look of sheer panic on her face was too much for her, and Blake couldn't contain her laughter any longer. Still sitting in the opening to their tent, she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

Slowly, realization dawned upon Yang, and her eyes narrowed threateningly. Blake could swear she saw a brief flicker of red.

"Belladonna, you're dead," she called out and stamped closer, danger beneath her eyes. "Was there even a spider?” 

"Nope," She said, cracking up once again. 

Yang didn't say anything. Instead, she suddenly broke into a full sprint and practically threw herself onto her, knocking Blake off her feet entirely. She found herself laying beneath her, held down by her weight, as she pinned her wrists over her head with one hand.

Still, despite the situation Blake was in, she couldn't stop laughing as she looked up at her face.

"Oh, I’m gonna give you a reason to laugh alright.” Yang announced grimly. 

If she hadn't been so busy dying of laughter, she probably would've gotten scared at this point, but in her condition she didn't even comprehend what she was planning to do until one of her hands crept towards Blake’s ribs, tickling her mercilessly.

"Yang!" She squealed and began thrashing around, but she kept on, still holding her wrists down. 

"What was that?" She asked, crimson eyes glinting as she smiled mischievously down at her, while Blake struggled for air, not able to cease her giggling. 

"I'm...I'm sorry...I'm sorry!" She wheezed. 

"Good." Yang grinned. "Just whistle if you want me to stop." 

Amber eyes widened as she frantically at least _tried_ to whistle, which was impossible since she was laughing so hard and could barely even breathe. 

"Kitten, I can't hear you," she teased. 

"Screw you," Blake choked out. 

The sound of a throat being cleared made both of them look up. Both girls froze when they saw Robyn examining them with an alarmed look on her face.

"Okay...I’m just gonna interrupt...whatever you two are doing." She spoke and gestured vaguely at them. "Oobleck and I finally thought of an appropriate punishment for you brats and your little adventure last night. You're going to town later and you'll be doing the grocery shopping for tonight's barbecue. Not without supervision, of course. Seeing as you clearly need it.”

Yang nodded and swiftly got off of her, not without sending Blake another half-hearted glare. 

"Okay," She managed to say whilst regaining control of her breathing. 

Robyn seemed like she wanted to say something else, but instead she just closed her mouth and walked off, shaking her head slightly. 

Blake fell onto her back and exhaled loudly. She was still panting and her gut hurt from laughing so hard. 

"Payback's a bitch," Yang smirked evilly and stalked over towards her limp body to go back inside the tent. Blake turned onto her stomach and watched as she dropped back down onto her cot, where she proceeded to close her eyes. "And now, if you’ll excuse me, I'm gonna continue my beauty sleep.”

Without a reply, the faunas got her bag from inside and shuffled towards the wash rooms at the other end of the camping site.

After having a quick shower ( _and freezing her butt off in the process because apparently there was no warm water_ ), She brushed her teeth at one of the sinks. 

While she did so, Weiss entered, looking uncharacteristically ruffled and bleary-eyed. 

"Hey." Blake greeted with her toothbrush still in her mouth. "You look awful." 

Weiss just sent her a glare in the mirror and started to get ready beside her. "Thank you, as do you." 

"Sorry," She laughed. "You just really look like the walking dead.”

"You're not making this any better, Blake," She responded and rolled her icy eyes. "But you have to admit I'd still look better than you.”

Suddenly Weiss groaned loudly, rubbing at her temples. 

“Another headache?” Blake asked, sympathetically.

She nodded wordlessly and Blake frowned. She tended to get a lot of those, especially dealing with anything that had to do with her family.

"What the heck," someone in one of the shower stalls muttered and a moment later Nora emerged, only clad in a towel that was wrapped around her middle. The confused look on her face vanished when she saw us. "What was that noise!?”

"Headache," Weiss provided without further explanation. 

Blake jumped as another voice suddenly made itself known from somewhere behind her. "Rough night, Princess?" Coco commented, exiting the other stall.

Before either of them could answer, Yang entered the wash room and the assembly was complete.

"Have you finished searching the tent for more spiders?" Blake asked with a provocative grin and cocked an eyebrow. 

The blonde ran a hand through her lightly tousled hair. "Hey, Kitten?" 

"Hm?" She immediately cursed herself for even responding to that stupid nickname, especially as Nora and Coco exchanged a strange look and Weiss frowned in confusion.

Yang simply walked towards her, swaying her hips as she did so, and before she could slap her hand away, she was already cupping the faunas’ chin and wiped away some toothpaste from the corner of her mouth with her thumb.

"I’ll advise you to remember who you’re messing with," she said, again with that husky, seductive voice.

"Or _what_?" Blake asked cautiously, not taking her narrowed eyes off of her.

Yang just smirked and made a show of licking the toothpaste off of her thumb... and that was enough to distract her from her question.

All she could do was stare at her in shock as she walked over to the showers, humming a light tune, and locked herself in one of the stalls.

Blake only noticed the awkward silence when Weiss cleared her throat. "Care to explain what in god’s name _that_ was?”

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously.

"Um, why Yang’s just _casually_ licking toothpaste off your face, for starters?"

"Maybe she’s just... _really_ into the taste of toothpaste?" She replied, scratching her neck uncomfortably. By now it wasn't just the humidity and the temperature in here that made her sweat.

"Yeah, obviously. The girl loves it so much, I once caught her eating an entire spoonful of tooth paste! It might actually be some kind of addiction." Nora joked in an exaggerated, playful tone.

"Oh, honey, no." Coco spoke with a slight grin and turned to look at her friend. "Joke or not, we both know what Yang _really_ likes to lic-“

Weiss raised a single dainty hand. “I am _begging_ you not to finish that sentence.” She shook her head.

“Prude.”

"You know, I'd find it highly amusing to slam your face into that sink," Weiss retorted.

Pairs of eyes widened at the ice queen’s unusually violent response.

"I’d like to see you try." The smirk never left Coco’s face.

Nora only snorted quietly at the banter, giving a quick wave before she made her way towards the door.

"That's just her way of showing affection," Blake explained with a fond smile on her face. “Especially when she has a migraine.”

"No, it's not!" Weiss shouted after the redhead. Then, turning to Coco. “I just hate you all with a passion.”

+++

It was about eleven in the morning when Yang and Blake found themselves in the supermarket in town. Yatsuhashi; the giant teddybear of a student from the upperclassmen group, who had volunteered to be their supervisor while they were there, had taken them down there with his car, but had then quickly taken off to another store to pick up some “feminine hygiene products” for his girlfriend in town instead of joining them.

He really was a good guy, he was like everyone’s big brother and even apologized for having to skip out on them. They didn't mind, they were girls themselves so they understood.

“That’s one lucky bitch.” Yang had commented earlier, soon after he departed.

This also meant that she and Yang were now left alone to their own devices. Blake had never been here before, but Yang looked like she knew her way around and led them through the aisles in the supermarket.

At first, everything went according to the teachers' orders; they had been collecting everything that was written on the list they’d given them, until their shopping cart was filled to the brim. Blake expected them to go off to the cash register and pay with the money they were given, but instead Yang suddenly took a left into another aisle.

"What are you doing?" She asked, tugging at her sleeve. "You do know this is the alcohol section, right? We're not even supposed to be here."

"Oh, this is exactly where we're supposed to be," Yang said with a grin and began to look at the different bottles and cans. 

Blake glanced around nervously, as if she was expecting a teacher to come running and tell us to get the hell out of here at any moment. 

Yang, on the other hand, didn't seem worried in the slightest as she started looking through the assortment of alcoholic beverages.

"Yang, can we go now?" She whined. "Why are we here?" 

"Nervous, Kitten?" She asked, turning around to to face her with her hands braced on the shelf. "Do you want to pick or shall I, milady?”

"Pick what?" 

She rolled her eyes with a half-smirk and traced a finger along the edge of one of the shelves. "What we'll be drinking later, duh. There'll be a little party at the beach tonight, with a bunch of other people from our class, y’know? They told me to buy some things." 

Blake stared at her wide-eyed. "And you agreed?" 

"Yeah, why not? It isn't a big deal. We'll grab some of the good stuff, find an adult to buy it for us, get everything to the car and we're done, okay? Yatsu doesn't care whether we buy it or not." 

"You can't be serious," I groaned and looked around once more. 

"What? didn't you ever... Of course you've never drank anything before," she laughed. "I’d be surprised if you had." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

_Oh god, now I’m starting to sound like Weiss.._

Yang only bit her lip, suppressing a grin, and began to pull out some bottles, putting them into the cart. 

Blake stood next to her, feeling completely out of place and becoming increasingly more stressed out as the amount of bottles grew. 

After about five minutes, Yang finally seemed satisfied and turned around. "Come on!" she called over her shoulder. "Yatsu will be back to pick us up any moment."

Sighing in defeat, she followed her towards the cash registers. "How are you gonna get all that alcohol through?" Blake asked her quietly. 

"Don't worry," she smirked. "This ain’t my first rodeo, darlin’.”

Yang then looked around, observing the few other customers around them. "What do you think, which one of ‘em would help us?" 

"She looks nice," Blake said weakly, pointing at a brunette girl with glasses and a cart full of vegetables and fruits. 

Yang shook her head disapprovingly. "Nah, she's _too_ nice. I don't think she would agree to being an accomplice to underage drinking.”

She frowned, but didn't object. 

"Perfect," The blonde suddenly muttered next to her. "I found the perfect one. Watch and learn." 

She quickly ran a hand through her hair and unzipped her leather jacket, flaunting the goods, before walking towards a petite blonde girl who was listening to music with her earphones in. Blake could tell that she was just barely an adult. 

Yang put on the most seductive smile she had to offer and tapped her shoulder. 

The girl spun around immediately and pressed one hand against her heart. "You scared me!" She laughed and looked Yang up and down for a second.

"Oh, I'm sorry, love," Yang said. "I didn't mean to." 

The girl laughed again, blushing a little as at the nickname.

Blake just rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hand as she leaned on the cart. 

"So...is there anything I can help you with?" 

Even Blake could sense that that sentence had a double meaning. 

"There is, actually.” Yang smiled. “You see, me and my friends are having a party tonight, and I kinda forgot my ID at home...And the cashiers never think I'm old enough to even buy alcohol. The struggle of having a baby face..." She laughed. 

The girl had caught the drift. "Sure, I can buy it for you," she beamed. "And what baby face? You practically look like a supermodel!”

Yang grinned, somewhat flattered. "Nice," she said and started putting all the bottles and cans into her cart. "Is it possible for you to meet me in the parking lot?" 

"Sure.” She immediately strutted towards the cash register, like a proud little lap dog. 

_Unbelievable how fast Yang had her eating out of the palm of her hand._

The blonde then turned around to lock eyes with Blake, sporting a smug look. "See? Easy." 

"Sure, when you're looking like such a _super model_ _,_ " She answered, mimicking the girl’s brown-nosing comment.

Yang’s only reply was a smirk as she watched the girl pay for the drinks and walk towards the exit. They then quickly paid for their groceries and followed her outside. 

She was standing in the parking lot, waiting on them– well, on _Yang_ \- with an eager smile. 

"Thank you, sweetheart," Yang said, lightly touching her arm and began to transfer everything back to their cart. "It was nice meetin’you." 

The smile on the girl's face looked almost painful. 

"So, are you going to give me your number?" She asked, trying and failing to sound seductive.

The smile on Yang’s face faltered for barely a second before she accepted the phone that was offered to her and created a new contact, typing in a number. "There ya go. See you around.”

With that, she turned around and they quickly made their way to Yatsu’s car, where he was already waiting. 

"Did you really give her your number?" Blake asked.

"Of course not. It's Fox’s. He'll be pretty excited about that," Yang said and, as they were getting into the car, added: "Looks like you're going to your first _real_ party tonight, huh?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on the Bee Movie:
> 
> party party party everybody’s at the party


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! Give your thanks to Bean Soup for the help with getting some of the drafts together.
> 
> So take that qurantine! Take that unorganized drafts!
> 
> Yay we got one ready and...here it is. I’m not 100% happy with it and had to redo and rewrite a lot, along with Bean, but its better than nothing. Sorry for any mistakes that got by us. Bean most likely will be taking charge of this until I get situated, whilst I deal with what I have with other stories.

"Yo, knock, knock!" Sun whisper-shouted from outside before sticking his head into their tent. His eyes widened as he saw Yang, who was currently getting dressed and hadn't put on a shirt yet.

"I mean, I’m flattered at the eagerness but one would usually wait for a reply before coming in," she said, one blond eyebrow raised as she pulled her shirt over her head and over a bra, purposely slowly, flaunting abs all the while as she sent a sly wink towards Blake.

The faunas just shook her head and focused her attention on Sun instead.

A slight blush crept onto his cheeks as he tore his gaze away from Yang. "Er...sorry," He stammered. "I didn't know you were still getting dressed... If I had, I would’ve waited.”

"Suuure," Yang commented.

Sun bit his lip, tail swaying nervously behind him.

"Okay, you gonna stop flirting with my boyfriend now?" Blake asked, raising a brow of her own.

"What, you want me to flirt with _you_ instead?" Yang suddenly turned her head towards her and watched Blake like a predator watching its prey. 

"You know very well that that's not what I meant."

"Are you _sure_?" She could sense that she was still staring, but she didn't dare to look at the blonde.

"Do you guys need me to leave you alone for a moment?" Sun chuckled.

"No," Blake replied firmly, just as Yang said: "Well, if you’re offering..”

She sent her a glare that only made the smirk on her face grow even wider. 

"Anyway," The blonde faunas slowly said. "Are you guys comin’? The teachers all went to bed. We can head to the beach now." 

"I don't know if this really is such a good idea..." Blake trailed, suddenly nervous. 

She was not a party person, nor had she ever had a beer in her life. Doing both for the first time on a fieldtrip with teachers around seemed like an incredibly stupid thing to do.

But Yang was already pushing her towards the exit of the tent. "You are coming out with us, Kitten. Even if I have to drag your introverted ass there." 

"You can't be serious," She muttered under her breath. 

"Oh, but I most certainly am. Now hop to it!" 

Blake glared up at her as she got up and dusted off her pants, but eventually followed her lead with Sun right behind her. Yang walked towards the woods that were bordering the camp site, both faunas right at her heels.

A few more students were making their way towards the forest too. The full moon, partly hidden behind some clouds, was the only source of light and tinted their surroundings silver. It was slightly warmer than last night in the cemetery, yet their breath still manifested as smoky wisps in the air. 

Sun caught Blake nervously looking around and reached for her hand, squeezing it firmly.

"Hey," he whispered, "It's all good. No need to get anxious. I'm here with you and if it gets too much we’ll leave, alright? Relax.”

She nodded and smiled weakly at him. This was exactly the reason why she thought dating her best friend could be a good idea. He knew her well, but sometimes...

Blake shook her head. _Enough of that._

This was how her life was supposed to go.

They were silent for the rest of the walk, until they eventually reached the beach. People were standing around with red solo cups in their hands, others were sitting in the sand in groups. Laughter echoed over the dunes, mixing with the soft whispering of the waves. 

Blake took a deep breath before approaching the group. Next to some beer crates, she could see that Yang had already left and was immediately attacked by Nebula. The girl’s hands were buried in Yang’s wild hair before sucking the skin below the blonde’s neck. Neither of them seemed to mind that there were tons of people around, a few of them were even weirdly interested in what was going on between them.

"Blake!" Someone called, urging her to spin around to see a smiling Nora walking towards her and Sun. “I’m surprised you came!”

"I did." She laughed. 

"Here, have a drink." She handed them both a plastic cup. Ren watching all the while from afar, shaking his head.

Blake took it hesitantly, while Sun shrugged only letting himself have one.

"Oh, don't worry," Nora said as she saw her expression. "I poured it myself just a minute ago. I didn't spike it or anything!”

"It's just...I've never had alcohol before," She replied, uncertain whether this was a good idea. 

But Nora smiled reassuringly. "Nothing to worry about. Just take it slow, don't drink too much too fast and it'll be fiiiine!” She waved a dismissive hand. “Of course you don't have to, though," she added. "I'm not a fan of peer pressure, so you do you." 

"Okay. Thanks, Nora.”

She just nodded and skipped off, towards Ren and Pyrrha who were chatting.

"Yang said she’s a little crazy but I’ve never had a problem with her.” Blake mused, turning to Sun.

"Yeah..” He said. "Do you really wanna drink that?" He looked pointedly at the cup in my hand. 

She shrugged and lifted it to her lips. "It's just one cup." 

Sun watched as she drained the cup’s contents in one go.

Blake grimaced at the bitter taste it left in her mouth. Just as she put the cup down, Yang suddenly appeared from god knows where. She heard her sarcastically clapping and spun around. 

"Awe," she grinned. "Baby had its first drink. How was it?" 

"Disgusting," She muttered. "Why would anyone drink that?" 

Yang sent her an amused look. "Well, knowing you, you're probably not really the beer-kinda girl. I think you'd like this better." 

She handed Blake the cup she'd been drinking from. 

"What's that?" She asked skeptically. 

"A Strawberry Sunrise. Just a _liiitle_ bit of vodka too, so, you know, be careful." 

"Blake, I really don't think you should-" Sun started, but she was already drinking a sip. 

And another one, and another one, until Yang snatched it from her and downed the rest. It tasted good, like strawberries, orange juice, and grenadine, but she felt the low burn in her throat. 

"Easy, Kitty Cat. If I were you, I'd wait a bit. It's your first time drinking, don't overdo it." 

Blake rolled her eyes at her. "Oh, please. Who are you, my mother?”

A smirk tugged at her lips, which were still red and kind of swollen from practically being mauled by Nebula. "Watch out for her, will you?" Yang asked, looking at Sun. 

"What else would I be doing?”

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," She objected.

Sun didn't reply and only pulled Blake away from Yang and towards Weiss, but not before Yang whispered something that only her faunas ears could hear. “I may not be you mother but-“ Before Blake promptly covered the blonde’s mouth and rolled her eyes. She let herself be pulled towards her white-haired friend who was sitting with Pyrrha and Ren now. 

She flopped into the sand next to her with a loud sigh, stretching her legs out in front of her.

For a few minutes, they all just sat in a companionable air, chatting about this and that. Whatever drink Yang gave her seemed to push her worries away for a moment and her usually reserved self was able to open up.

Nora propped herself up on her elbows, rolling to the side to _Boop!_ Ren in the nose.

Everyone got into fun, friendly conversation. It was light and care-free, almost like they’ve all been friends since forever.

Somehow, It turned into a conversation about what their spirit animal was. Only after some students gave a look to the few faunas that sat nearby. “That’s not, like, offensive is it?”

“No.” Blake assured them.

Marrow, Velvet, and Neon just shrugged.

Then absolute chaos ensued.

“Uhh, dragon.”

“ _Real_ creative, there. You just got that from your name.”

“Shut up.”

“A narwhal!”

“Those aren’t real.”

“Yes they are!”

“Unicorn dolphins are not a real thing. I have literally never seen one in my life.”

“I’ve never seen a flying squirrel but those are real.”

“Wait, those fuckers can fly?”

“I’d be...a hedgehog.”

“Why?”

“They run fast.”

“I’d be a didgeridoo.”

“That’s an instrument.”

But then they started to get curious about the faunas themselves.

“I dunno...but I _did_ see my cousin run full-sprint down a street to chase a cat. He said it was challenging him by making eye-contact.” Marrow supplied.

“I’ve seen Velvet inhale a carrot before.”

Weiss eyed Blake, who averted her eyes.

“She doesn't want to admit her fondness for fish.”

Suddenly, Blake got distracted by the way the sky had started spinning. 

She flopped onto her back, gazing up at the stars. Had they always been dancing like that? She had to smile, realizing how pretty they were. She thought of purple galaxies and golden stars.

Next to her, Blake noticed Weiss staring at her with a weird look. "Did she drink anything?" She asked incredulously. 

"Yep" Sun answered finally approaching the group before sitting down next to Jaune. "It wasn't even that much."

Someone had turned on some music and even though she didn't particularly like that band, Blake quietly hummed to it. 

"You lowerclassmen are such lightweights," Coco snickered. 

”We are not worthy O’ Lord of Lesbians.”

"Shh, guys, don't get on my nerves, okay? I'm feeling good for once," Blake said, shutting her eyes and drinking in the unfamiliar feeling spreading throughout her body. 

The monkey faunas’ eyes met Yang’s, watching her frown at the words: “ _for once_.” But the look was gone as soon as it came, being replaced with a happier expression. 

Sun had a feeling that Blake wasn't the only one who used masks.

"Looks like someone’s enjoying herself." 

Amber eyes snapped open as she heard Yang’s voice. 

Blake had to turn her head a bit to be able to look up at her. "Hey there," She grinned lazily. "Could you get me more of that happy juice?”

“I don’t know..”

“Please?”

Yang sighed then chuckled quietly and looked over at Nebula who was standing next to her. "You heard her, how about a cocktail?” She grinned.

"What, why?" Nebula asked defiantly. "I'm not a servant. Especially not for that five-year old!" She gestured at Blake. There clearly was some kind of weird tension between the two of them, only now it was charged with aggression.

Blake didn't know what happened between then and now but it was a quick jump from 0 to 100.

"Hey, I'm not five! I'm..." Blake had to pause for a second to count the years on her fingers. "I forgot.”

"Lighten up, I was joking." Yang commented, slowly and firmly. She had a smile on her face but her eyes told a different story. An air of dominance.

"Oh, and what are you going to do, Yang?" Nebula asked angrily. "Break up with me?" 

Yang stared at her for a moment, a single brow raised as she said: "Neb, why would I break up with you?”

A pause.

”We were never together." 

By now everyone was dead silent, so Nebula’s gasp was clearly audible, along with a few other students’ comments.

“Ooooh!”

“Hah.”

“You’re not together unless you’re _together_ -together. Isn't that right, Ren?” 

Ignoring them all, Nebula glared. “Are you freaking serious?”

"Do I seem like I'm not? Neb, you really have to work on that attitude of yours," Yang said in a nearly friendly tone and patted her arm. "It tends to annoy the fuck outta people. Me included." 

Her expression slowly darkened, before she stomped off, her walk only swaying slightly.

Blake watched the blonde lowly mutter: make sure she actually makes it back to her tent- to another classmate who nodded. No one else seemed to notice.

The faunas sat up so abruptly that her head was spinning even more. "That wasn't nice, Yang." She said with a frown and sent her a disapproving look. 

"Yang’s right though," Flynt, who had recently joined them, agreed. "Even though you have the same attitude too, Xiao Long.”

"Hello!...Did I miss something?" Pyrrha asked in that moment and sat down next to Blake.

"Yang dropped Nebula." 

"Oh, thank God." The redhead mumbled.

"Thank you, you goddess, at least someone understands me," Yang laughed, giving her shoulder a pat.

"Hey, can I have a sip?" Blake asked and pointed at Pyrrha's drink. 

"Sure." 

She handed it to her and Blake immediately emptied the rest of the cup, before realization dawned on her.

“That’s juice.”

Pyrrha giggled. “I never said it wasn't.”

Blake ended up getting up and walking towards the other beer crates stacked near the jetty. 

At least that's what she was _trying_ to do, but she kind of stumbled and if it hadn't been for Yang who caught her arm just in time, she would've taken a hard fall.

"Careful," she said and let go of her. "Where ya going?" 

She just lazily pointed at the beer crates and grabbed her arm for support as she started walking again. Yang laughed and helped her get there, even opening the bottle for her.

“Listen, I’m only obliging you because I know Sun’ll take care of you. If something happens, Nora will break their legs and I’ll hide the body.” She chuckled. “Only after I get my licks in too.”

As soon as Yang handed her the beer, she gulped down half of it. But as she went for a second sip, Yang gently took it out of her hand.

"Heyyy, what are you doing?" Blake whined.

"I already regret my decision. Blake, I’m cutting you off for your own safety. You're _already_ slurring." 

"Whad’you mean?" She asked, but somehow stumbled over the words in the process, so they came out sounding jumbled. Blake slapped a hand over her mouth, giggling. "Did you hear that?" 

"Yeah," Yang spoke fondly and took her fingers, pulling them away from her face. 

For a second she stared at Blake’s lips, but then her eyes locked on her face again and she let go of her hand. 

Meanwhile the faunas began fanning herself with one hand. "I’m hot. Is it me or...I’m hot." She spouted out.

Yang laughed, steadying her. "That's probably the alcohol." 

"Stupid, dumb alcohol," She huffed and started walking towards the sea. 

"...what are you doing?" 

"I told you, I’m hot." Blake yelled and broke into a sprint. 

She just wanted to cool herself off in the water, but Yang gripped her wrist and pulled her back. 

"Blake, that water is freezing!" She stated, still trying to drag the intoxicated faunas away from the water. "You're gonna get sick. Seriously!”

But Blake wasn't listening. Instead she caught the stronger girl off guard and wrestled her wrist out of her grip and fled, almost tripping a few times. Seconds later, she gracefully threw herself into the waves, which swallowed her slim body up _immediately_.

She tried getting back to the surface, but everything was spinning and she suddenly couldn't distinguish left from right or what was up and what was down.

Before the faunas could even start to panic, she felt herself being lifted and yanked back up as two strong arms circled her waist and pulled her free.

Yang was helping her get to her feet in the shallow water, still wearing all of her clothes along with a look that was a weird mix between concern, empathy ,and just a tiny bit of anger. "I'm going to yell your ear for being stupid tomorrow," She promised, shaking her head.

Even in this state, she could tell the blonde was upset at her drunken actions and the danger of it, but not angry at Blake herself.

Blake just looked at her with wide eyes, feeling the wind whip at her dripping wet clothes. 

"Can you walk?" 

She tried, but immediately lost her balance. Yang didn't miss a beat, nonchalantly lifting her up and started walking like she wasn't carrying an entire person.

Blake let out an uncharacteristically drunken giggle in delight at being carried, clinging to her jacket as Yang straightened herself with a quiet grunt yet still carried her effortlessly.

Then she walked out of the water and towards the path that led back to the camp site. Blake was freezing cold, but Yang’s body heat at least provided some warmth, so she gratefully nuzzled her head further into the blonde. 

Quite like a cat, one that sober-Blake would be ashamed of.

"Why are we leaving?" The faunas asked, slightly disappointed that the party was already over. 

"Because you need to sleep this off or you'll feel even worse tomorrow." 

"Huh," She said thoughtfully. 

Yang gave a vaguely affirmative noise and walked over to Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren. Weiss and Sun were a few feet away, but they didn't see them. 

"I'm gonna bring her back to camp," Yang announced. "I don't think I'll come back afterwards... Someone has to look after her. This one’s a wild card when she’s shit-faced." 

Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a meaningful glance before staring at the faunas being carried bridal style.

"Guys," Yang groaned. "There's nothing to this. At all. I'm just being nice to my partner. Aren't you guys _always_ telling me to play nice?”

" _Really_ nice," Blake muttered, earning a few chuckles.

"Alright. I'm gonna go. Have fun or whatever," The blonde bid them goodbye before trudging into the opposite direction.

"Bye-bye!" Blake yelled, clinging tightly to Yang as they made their way back.

A little later, after Blake had successfully changed into dry clothes with a little help from Yang, she finally slipped into her sleeping bag. She was trembling from the cold right now, every inch of her shaking.

Yang lay down beside her and closed her eyes, but the sound of chattering teeth made her sit up and turn the flashlight on again.

Blake blinked into the bright light while she got up and plucked her jacket from the other side of the tent. 

"Up," Yang whispered into her ear, with such a direct authoritarian tone that made her involuntarily shiver.

As she finally got up into a sitting position, she tightly wrapped the coat around her, helping her stick her arms into the sleeves. 

The coat fit _almost_ perfectly and Blake smiled gratefully at her while she snuggled deeper into the collar, fighting every feline urge yelling at her to sniff it.

"Go to sleep," she spoke softly sweet, and gently pushed the faunas onto her back. 

Her only response was a sleepy yawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No I do not condone underage drinking but that doesn't stop people from doing it therefore we have scenes like this with irresponsible teens :D


	11. Chapter 11

Blake woke up from a coughing fit, feeling completely disoriented. She sat up, but it wouldn't stop. Her entire body was shaking by now and she felt like she would inevitably cough up a lung.

"Drink that," a voice next to her suddenly ordered and a bottle of water was held in front of her field of view.

She took it without question and hastily uncapped the lid. Somehow managing to gulp down some of the ice-cold water, eventually the coughing came to an end, leaving her breathless.

"Are you..okay?" Yang asked and she could feel her eyes on her as the faunas exhaled deeply and put the bottle down.

"Yeah," She croaked and nearly jumped as she heard the sound of her own voice. It was barely audible, hoarse and sounded not at all like her.

Blake turned her head towards the blonde to look at her for the first time this morning; Blake’s cheeks flushed as she loudly sucked the air in through her teeth.

"What?" She asked, feeling even more insecure all of a sudden.

Instead of an answer, Yang reached out and lightly put a hand on her forehead. Blake flinched from the sudden coldness from the girl that usually ran hot. The look on her face darkened. "Yeah, you're pretty hot."

She looked at her without understanding and nervously said: "...Thank you?”

Yang snorted. "No, I mean, _literally._ You definitely have a temperature. Trust me, my sister used to catch colds a lot.”

"What, no," She objected, "I never get sick."

Yang shot her an exasperated glance. "Yeah? Well, you’re coughing up your lungs, so you obviously are. Which doesn't surprise me, considering you jumped into the ice cold sea in the middle of the night and slept in the cold afterwards. Plus, you probably have a hangover, since this was your first time drinking."

"Excuse me?" The faunas asked, horror-stricken, and grimaced in pain when she felt a throbbing headache building up. "I did _what_? I can't even remember that!"

"Nothing at all?”

"I remember walking up to the beach with Sun, and Nora brought me beer or something. The rest is a blur."

"Huh," She said. "Well, I'm gonna go and get a teacher. Are you alright on your own for a little bit?”

Blake just nodded and sunk back onto the bag, pressing the palm of her hand against her forehead. The headache was getting worse with every passing minute and she felt a little nauseated.

To top it off, it began raining in that exact moment. Usually she loved rain, when she was inside at least; drawing or reading, snuggled in a blanket with a cup of tea in her hand. But not when she was camping in a tent that she didn't exactly trust to withstand a thunderstorm.

A few moments later, the blonde crawled back into the tent, her hair wet, dark spots forming on her shirt from the rain. 

Behind her was Oobleck. His dark green hair was tousled and he was wearing pajamas that were only halfway buttoned up. "Blake? This one told me you were sick..." 

"I think I might be," She said, nervously fiddling around with her fingers resting in her lap.

"Well, child, you certainly sound like it!" The mad scientist scratched his chin and seemed to think about something. "You know what? While I go into the forest with your classmates later, you can stay here and rest. Someone can stay here with you, if you’d like." 

She felt Yang’s gaze, but didn't dare look at her and said as sternly as possible: "Sun. If you don’t mind.”

Oobleck stared in thought for a moment, before nodding. Probably wondering if he should _really_ bring her boyfriend _and_ leave the two teens alone. He seemed to make up his mind, trusting Blake. "I’ll inform him.” 

As soon as he had left the tent, Yang gathered some clothes and a towel and crawled towards the exit. "I'm gonna shower...Don’t die on me while I’m gone.”

"I'll try. Your empathy means _a lot_ ," She croaked sarcastically.

Yang just shot her a grin before finally leaving and pulling the zipper of the tent shut behind her. 

She must've dozed off for a while because when she opened her eyes again, the blonde sitting next to her this time had a tail. 

"Hey," She whispered with a tired smile. 

Sun looked up from his phone. "Hey. How ya feeling?" 

"Not great."

He was silent for a moment. Then held up a steaming cup. "Uh, brought some tea. Oobleck said it’d help with your throat and that he had a PhD for a reason." 

She eyed the cup warily. "What tea is that?" 

"The teachers only had black tea." As he saw the look on her face, he added: "But I know how you feel about it, so I added sugar and all that." 

Blake sighed and sat herself up a bit to accept the tea he handed her. Drinking a sip, she smiled contently as the hot tea ran down her throat and soothed the pain there just a little bit. 

"Thank you." Blake reached out to take his hand, but he quickly recoiled.

"Can’t help if I’m sick too," he said with an apologetic smile. 

She pulled her hand back slowly. "Right, sorry." 

He didn't say anything, but laid down on Yang’s mattress, folding his arms behind his head.

"Who’s jacket is that?” He added curiously. 

She looked down at herself in surprise. She was wearing a long coat, with sleeves that were just a bit too big for her.

"Yang’s apparently," Blake realized.

Sun’s expression turned into a slight frown. "Don't you want to take that coat off then? Aren’t you hot?”

"Not right now. It's comfortable..and mine is still wet, I believe," She answered. 

It was true; the jacket was really comfortable, actually, and it smelled nice. Like citrus and something sweet. Like Yang, she realized with slight discomfort, but quickly dismissed that thought. 

"I didn't even know you two were cool like that.” Sun said. "You've never hung out with her before and now you always seem to be around each other." 

"That's not true. It's just because we're partners..” She gestured vaguely at the tent they were in. “And because of that incident with the hoodie the other day..." 

Sun still looked rather doubtful, but before he could even open his mouth to reply, the zipper opened and Yang crawled inside. 

There was a faint smile on her lips when she entered, but it faded rather quickly. "My bad, am I interrupting something?" 

Blake, for some odd reason, felt embarrassed about the way he was laying full length on Yang’s cot. He quickly sat up and shuffled towards its very edge. 

Yang shook her head slightly and looked back at her. Showing her a thermos bottle she said: "I made you some of the tea they had, since you have a sore throat..." 

She trailed off as she saw the cup in her hand. Her gaze briefly wandered over to Sun, who shrugged. "Ohh.”

Blake’s mind briefly brought up the memory of Weiss saying something about all the blondes here sharing one brain cell.

Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if Jaune made a surprise entrance, tea in hand.

She didn't seem to know what to do -Yang, who always seemed confident and assured and like the master of any situation- , but then she just thoughtlessly lifted the bottle to her own lips and drank a sip from it.

The faunas jumped as she suddenly cursed in pain and watched as she rubbed her lips, which most likely burnt with the hot tea. 

For a moment the only sounds filling the tent were Yang’s swearing and Sun’s chuckling.

"Aren't you _hotter than that anyways_?" Blake quoted, referencing their first encounter. 

Yang’s eyes narrowed immediately. "Funny.”

"Thank you, I'm glad you appreciate my humor. Oh, by the way, do you want your jacket back?" 

"You can keep it for now," She said. "You're sick and I hardly get cold anyway.”

She raised an eyebrow; she could clearly see Yang’s clothing affected by the random drizzles of rain, but she chose not to say anything. 

Neither did Sun, so they all just sat in awkward, tense silence, while she and Yang quietly drank tea. 

They all flinched as lightning suddenly flashed outside, followed by roaring thunder. The pattering of the rain on the tent had increased considerably. 

"Uh oh.” Yang mused. “Nora must be angry.”

Blake supposed that it was some type of inside joke because she didn't get it. She was about to ask when Sun suddenly spoke.

"Yeah, well...I might be too.”

Both girls turned to look at him, one of them confused, the other concerned.

"Why?" Blake asked. 

"Because Yang let you get that messed up and didn't hold you back when you ran into the freakin’ _ocean_ , to start off." His blue eyes met lilac, but promptly lost the contest when lilac turned red-tinged. 

"Um, hold on buddy." Yang said with a humorless laugh. "You're blaming _me_? You’re her boyfriend, that’s _your_ job. I even asked you to look after her! You literally said ‘ _What else would I be doing_ ’” She quoted, mimicking his voice. “You knew damn well that she was drinking, but you disappeared somewhere with your pals. Where were _you_ , when she ran into the ‘ _freakin ocean_ ’? I’ll wait.”

Blake looked at both of them before she started coughing again, choking on a sip of tea she had just drank, and was unable to form any words to tell them to stop arguing. 

It would’ve been endless. Yang was hotheaded and Sun was stubborn.

Yang shuffled over to her, eyes still red, and placed a few light slaps on her back almost mechanically. Like she was used to being a caretaker. -Causing Blake to cough out the liquid that had gotten into her windpipe, until the coughing came to an end. 

Blake sunk onto her back, exhausted and breathing heavily, and didn't even care that she was basically laying in her lap. 

"Are you alright?" Sun asked.

She nodded, eyes fluttering shut as she calmed down. 

It wasn't long before she heard shuffling. When she opened her eyes, Sun had opened the tent. “I’ll uh, I’ll be back.”

An ice cold blast of air rushed through the tent and she could feel herself shivering.

Blake quickly got off of her and sat up, preparing to go talk to him.

"Pack in the tents, everyone, we're leaving!" Oobleck suddenly yelled outside, before either of them could comment on what had just happened. "The trip is over, thanks to this darn weather! Move it, students!”

Yang just left without another word. 

The faunas quickly got to her knees as well, and crawled out of the tent, onto the camping site where everyone else was already busy gathering their bags and putting the tents together. 

She had to hold onto a tent pole for a moment as she got to her feet because her head was spinning and she had to fight the dizziness.

"Careful!" Weiss said suddenly and quickly jogged over to her. She placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "You look dreadful. Why are you by yourself? Where are tweedle dee and tweedle dumb?”

"I don’t know where Sun is and Yang just ran off a second ago. I don't know what she's doing now," She said and scanned the camping site for either blonde, but couldn't find them anywhere near. "Maybe she’s making out with Nebula, or something.”

"Ah, I highly doubt that.”

"Why?" 

Weiss just stared. "They broke it off or something, don’t you remember? I think I saw her talking to that guy, Marrow? I think. You know, the canine faunas?”

She nodded silently.

"So, why are you still standing around here like a buffoon?" The icy girl suddenly asked. "Get onto the bus, I'll get...” Weiss looked at their mess of a tent and cringed. “...this.”

"Weiss, I appreciate it but you really don’t have-“

"Just go!" Weiss said, shouting it over the sudden gust of wind that swept across the camp and shooed her away.

Blake definitely owed her one.

She hesitantly took her stuff before walking over to the bus that was already waiting for them. She was the first one to get on, so she could choose her seat freely. Not expecting anyone to want to sit next to her in her sickly state, she put her bag on the seat next to her and leaned her head against the window, looking at the raindrops that were trailing down the glass. 

Little by little, the bus filled with students. Most of them looked a little pale and grumpy themselves; you could clearly see who had been at the party last night and who hadn't. 

Nebula, on the other hand, didn't need a hangover to look grumpy. The look on her face was so sulky, that no one even dared to talk to her.

Blake quickly looked away as she glared at her in passing, her emerald eyes so full of hatred that it made her wonder what _she_ did.

Turning her head, she leaned her cheek against the cold glass. Outside, in the pouring rain, Yang was talking to some guy, Marrow probably, and only reluctantly took a step back when the teachers called her. 

Pulling him with her, she walked towards the bus. For a second, their eyes locked through the window, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Eventually, Yang looked away and turned back to him instead, kissing him for a few more seconds before she got onto the bus. 

Blake didn't look at her when she appeared in the aisle and sat down a few rows in front of her.

Instead, her eyes searched for Sun. He was sitting with his friends, still looking somewhat glum.

Behind her, she heard Weiss chatting with Pyrrha, while Nora and Ren were sharing one pair of earphones to listen to music. 

After a few minutes the talking seemed to fade away, until it was nothing but a background noise that, together with the sound of the rattling engine, made her even sleepier, until she slowly drifted off for the rest of the ride.

She only woke up when the bus came to a halt in front of the school building and people started to get off. After following them out onto the parking lot, she sighed quietly, realizing that she would probably have to walk home. 

At least the rain had stopped, somewhat.

Others still had their cars sitting around and could drive home by themselves, but her parents had dropped her off before the field trip and Blake’s car was at home. 

Other people got picked up by their parents, but as usual, her parents were at work.

Weiss briefly said goodbye to her; though she didn't seem to have a way back at the moment either, which she didn't look too happy about.

Blake stood there, feeling like an idiot as the parking lot started to get emptier with every person that left.

Yang was still messing around with her bike.

After a while, she looked away and adjusted the strap of the bag on her shoulder, then started to walk towards the street. 

"Hey, where are you going?" 

She turned around as she heard a voice calling from behind.

It was Yang, of course; she had finally stopped angrily fiddling with _whatever_ she was fiddling with.

"What?" She shouted back, and immediately regretted it as her throat felt like it had caught on fire again. 

The blonde started to walk towards her. "What are you doing?" 

"Going home," Blake said with a shrug and turned around to continue walking. 

"By foot?" She asked incredulously and placed a hand on her wrist.

Blake stared down at the spot where her fingers were lightly pressing on her skin and didn't dare to meet her eyes. "Yes.”

"I'll drive you.”

"I don't want you to," She answered, finally looking up at her. 

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, the ice queen said the same thing and forced Sun to take her home. Something about ‘not wanting to trust an idiot and her death machine.’

Yeah, that sounded like Weiss. She was thankful that Sun took her home safely, though.

Yang looked at a point somewhere above her head for a second. "Which is why I came to you, seeing as you don’t have a ride. You’re sick, you have a hangover, it’s raining and you're carrying a giant backpack _and_ a sleeping bag. Just get on the bike...my house is in your neighbourhood anyway." 

"What if I refuse?" Blake asked, challenging her.

Her lips twisted into a thin smile. "Then I will literally throw you over my shoulder and carry you there. And that will hurt your pride even more than just accepting a nice offer." 

She thought about it for a moment before she finally agreed: "Fine." 

Yang grinned triumphantly. "Come on.”

She walked back to her bike, motioning for her to follow.

Blake rolled her eyes and obeyed silently. Seconds later, she slid behind the blonde. As soon as they were both sitting, Yang started the ignition and they quickly left the school behind. 

She was amazed by the way the bike drove so effortlessly, without a stuttering engine or squeaking brakes like her car.

The faunas tried not to think about where her hands were throughout the ride, or how she involuntarily felt the chiseled muscle ripple when she laughed. She was mad at herself for even giving it any thought. It wasn't like Sun didn't have his own washboard abs, but she found that she touched Yang’s more whenever she gave her a ride considering how she had to hold on.

And, admittedly, she didn't exactly touch Sun a whole lot, not that intimately. 

That was an uncomfortable thought.

"So...You have a new ’friend?’” Blake carefully asked when they made it to their destination; a failed attempt at clearing her thoughts.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say all that, but... He’s pretty cute, don’tcha think?" 

There was a double meaning in her words, but Blake couldn't figure out what it was. 

"Yeah, I guess," she replied, nervous to say something bad, "He looks...fine?”

Yang burst into laughter, a satisfied look flickering in her eyes. 

The faunas just huffed and pulled her phone out once again. One late text from her mom: 

**>** _Sorry, I'm busy at work right now. Just walk home okay?_

She turned the phone off with a lump in her throat. Even though she tried, she couldn't shake off the slight feeling of disappointment.

"You okay?" Yang asked with a quick glimpse over at her. 

She nodded. Luckily the blonde had received a text in that moment, so she didn't have to think of an explanation. 

Blake only now remembered that she was still wearing her coat, so she quickly got out of it and thrusted it at her again. "..Thanks for the ride." 

"No problem. Feel better." 

She offered her a small smile, then turned around and walked towards her home, wanting nothing more than to crawl into her bed and just sleep.

Sleep was good. Those small moments of peace were always few and far between, but she had a feeling her exhaustion would reward her with a dreamless slumber.

There was nothing better than that.


	12. Chapter 12

Most of the time, almost every single day to be honest, Blake wouldn't have minded staying home as opposed to going to school at all. However, now that she actually _had_ to stay in bed, unable to leave, she hated every second of it.

She had climbed into bed the moment she had returned from the field trip, and hadn't really left it since, except for little trips to the bathroom and the kitchen.

It had turned out she had not only caught a cold, but nearly lung inflammation and it was probably only thanks to Yang, who had gotten her out of the water and had given her a coat, that it wasn't more severe.

It had been five days now, and Blake was convinced that one more day spent watching sitcoms on TV and not really doing much else was driving her insane.

She and Weiss were texting all the while and Sun called, but that was it. Her parents were at work nearly all day, and when they were home, they briefly checked up on her before having to go back to more pressing matters like grading exams and watching political rallies.

It was past two P.M, but since she had slept so much during the day, she was pretty much wide awake now. Bored out of her mind, she flipped through the pages of a random magazine she’d found on the kitchen counter, when a quiet clinking noise distracted her. 

The faunas looked around in her room, searching for whatever was making the disturbance, but didn't find anything. Ultimately, she returned her attention back to the magazine, passing the sounds off as insignificant. 

But even after three minutes, the clinking hadn't stopped. On the contrary, it was actually increasing, almost sounding like it was announcing its presence.

With an irritated huff, she sat up to look out of the window, just in time to see a pebble fly against the glass. The noise was quickly followed by a red dot appearing on the windowpane. It circled around, drawing invisible shapes and kept on moving.

And moving.

And moving.

She’d had enough.

She shot out of bed immediately, only wincing slightly as her bare feet hit the cold floor, and ran over to the window. 

"What the..?" Blake whispered to herself as soon as she had opened it.

Yang was barely more than a shadow in the darkness around her, the light of the street lamps not reaching the spot beneath the window where she was standing. Blake only knew it was her because of the way she tilted her head to the side. She was toying around with the next stone in her hand while the other aimed the laser pointer.

Besides, no one else would get the ridiculous idea to show up at her house in the middle of the night. Nor would they try to get her attention with a _laser pointer_... 

Instead of answering, Yang just pointed at the front door, gesticulating wildly for her to open it. 

Blake considered this for a moment. Of course, she _was_ bored and would actually be happy about some company, but did she really want _Yang’s_ , of all people? 

The blonde had somehow grown on her during the field trip. She felt like she should at least be nicer to her after all she'd done when she didn't exactly _have_ to. 

On the other hand, she was looking a mess; wearing shorts and a hoodie was no problem in front of her, but she was still looking...well, sick. Hopefully better than she felt.

Eventually, she nodded and tiptoed down the stairs and towards the door, which she quietly unlocked. 

"Hey Kitten." Yang whispered while she looked her over. 

Blake immediately felt her skin tingling under her stare, but suppressed the urge to fidget nervously. Instead, she decided to do the same to her and studied her as well. 

As always, her hair was wildly perfect, but she knew that she had achieved that look with at least an hour in the bathroom. One blonde strand had fallen into her eyes; Blake’s fingers itched with the urge to push it out of her face. Her eyes were the same color as the purple open flannel she wore.

Her own eyes darted back to her face as Yang cleared her throat with a faint smirk. "Feel free to keep checking me out.” 

"I wasn't _checking you out_.”

"Well, I was checking _you_ out," she said with a shrug.

She could only stare at her for a few seconds, before she stepped closer and lifted the faunas’ chin with her index finger, closing her mouth. ”So, ya letting me in or what?” 

Blake silently stepped aside. Yang smiled sweetly at her before she walked by and quietly entered the house. 

"Where's your room?" she mouthed.

She pointed up the stairs. What followed were probably the longest fifteen seconds of her entire life; she and Yang tried to go up the stairs as quietly as possible, but somehow every single step seemed to creak under their weight. 

When they finally arrived at the top of the stairs, she promptly pulled Yang into her room, closing the door behind her.

In that instant, Blake really wished she had a working lock on her door.

For a moment she was just leaning against the door and watched Yang as she looked around the room. 

There wasn't anything special, really: her bed occupied most of it, in one corner was her desk which was buried beneath sketches and books, then there was the closet, a book shelf and the bathroom door. Photos of her with Sun, Weiss, and an old picture of Ilia were stuck to a wall. It wasn't much. 

"So... what exactly..are you doing here?" Blake asked after a while. 

Yang set the book she had been eyeing down on her nightstand and turned around. "Weiss talked about how bored and lonely you were, so I thought you'd want some company." 

" _Weiss_ sent you here?" She asked in surprise. 

"Well, not exactly," Yang said. "She mentioned it to Pyrrha and Pyrrha told me. Oh, your boyfriend says hey, by the way. He’s still pissed at me for some reason, but at least he’s not glaring at me during class, so that's an improvement, I guess." 

Blake leaned her head against the door. "He’s just worried, you know. He means no harm.”

"About _what_? Worried I might snatch his sexy girlfriend?" She joked.

"Well-”

" _Well_ , there's really no reason for him to worry, is there?" The blonde dreamily announced. She was casually leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room, but she was watching Blake carefully. 

Blake sent her a pointed look. "I'm not having this conversation with you again." 

Yang just huffed and pushed herself off the wall, stepping into the room and closer to her. "Alright, whatever. How are you feeling, anyway? You're looking better than you did the other day." 

"I'm getting better. I'll probably be back at school tomorrow." 

Yang nodded and wandered along the wall, until she came to a stop in front of her book shelf. She examined the titles with an interested squint of her eyes.

The book shelf was probably the only thing that was tidy at the moment: the books were arranged in alphabetical order by their authors. Classics, mostly, but also some contemporary and fantastical books. 

Seeing Yang’s smirk, she knew exactly which book she’d spotted. She was proven right, when she took _Ninjas of Love: Book Three_ out and held it up almost triumphantly. 

"Interesting," she said and raised an eyebrow. "Romantic literature with tons of gay characters? Who do you prefer, as a couple, I mean? The shogun and the princess or the princess and Lady Nightshade?"

Thinking about how the hell she’d answer _that_ , Blake crossed the room, snatched the book out of her hand and placed it back in its original spot. "How do you know so much about it? I didn't know you liked reading.”

She could tell that there were more questions Yang wanted to ask, but as she noticed her discomfort she promptly let it go and softly replied: "There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She laughed quietly. "I _do_ actually like to read. Not that many classics, but I enjoy it all the same. I remember reading one of the _Ninjas_ books; I was fourteen and about to come out. It was nice to read about that kind of topic in an older book. Shows that people dealt with that stuff back then too.”

"Well, addressing the topic didn't really do the author any good, ” Blake said. "She was ostracized because of her sexuality.” 

"Yeah, but at least she found a way to express her feelings. Better than bottling it all up and drowning in it, don't you think? Better than pretending she was something that she obviously wasn't.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about the book anymore?" She replied warily. 

Suddenly she became aware of how close Yang was standing to her; if she had extended her arm just a little, she would've touched her chest. Not that she wanted to. 

"I dunno, are we?" Yang retorted and pointed at her. "Hey, maybe you should re-read that book. Might be helpf-" 

The rest of her sentence was muffled by the pillow Blake grabbed from her bed and threw at her face. 

It barely impacted her and by the rapid flash of her eyes, she realized that might have been a mistake.

The blonde immediately bent down and plucked it. Before Blake could duck, she threw it back.

She stumbled back, her knees hit the bed and seconds later Blake fell onto the mattress. 

Trying to keep her balance, she had instinctively looked for something to hold onto. Unfortunately that had been Yang’s shirt, so she’d dragged her down with her.

Now Yang was laying on top of her, propping herself up on her hands which were on both sides of her head, causing her ears to twitch.

"Umm," Blake laughed nervously and pushed against her to get her off.

Yang didn't budge an inch. "Oh my, Miss Belladonna, I didn't know you were so _forward_.”

"Yang," she whined. "Seriously, you're crushing me." 

Yang leaned down, just enough so that she could whisper into her human ear. "Nah, I'm not crushing you. I think there’s a word missing." 

Blake looked up in confusion, staring up into her eyes. They really were unbelievably _purple_. Just for a heartbeat she wished she could paint pictures with that color, brush it onto a canvas and frame it on a wall. "Get up."

Finally she shrugged and did as she was told.

The faunas immediately exhaled a deep breath she hadn't realized she’d been holding and took the hand that she extended to help her up. 

As she was opening her mouth to say something, loud steps echoed through the hallway outside. Both of their heads whipped towards the door, eyes wide. 

"Closet!" Blake frantically whispered and pushed her towards it. 

Yang groaned quietly before opening the door and squeezing herself inside. As soon as all her limbs were in, she carefully closed it.

"Do not move. At _all_.”

Yang’s voice was muffled as it sounded through the door. "Ooh, I love it when you’re feisty.”

Blake quickly jumped back into her bed, slipping under the sheets, and picked up the magazine, trying hard to look natural. 

Seconds later, the door opened and Ghira walked inside. Never had she seen another person who could look that intimidating wearing pajamas. 

"Blake, what is all that noise?" He asked. 

She winced, but held his gaze. "Sorry, dad. I was just going to the bathroom." 

Her father frowned in thought, but after another suspicious look around her room he seemed to be too tired to investigate. "A little quieter, sweetheart?”

Blake nodded silently and watched as the giant faunas left the room and shut the door behind him. 

Once he was gone, she counted to fifteen before walking over to the closet and opening the door. 

Yang immediately swung her legs out and got to her feet with a quiet groan. "Jeez, I didn't think I'd have to go back in there." 

"How did I know you'd make some kind of coming-out-of-the-closet joke?" She asked, trying hard not to giggle. 

"You just know me too well, maybe we’ve met before, " Yang grinned, before turning towards the window. "Anyway, I'm gonna head out. Gotta hit the sack and catch _some_ sleep.”

Now that she talked about sleeping, Blake had the urge to yawn. "Are you going out the window?" 

It really wasn't that high up and you could land easily in the garden; Blake knew from experience. 

Yang nodded and opened the window up wide. Then she swung her legs out. Just before she jumped, she turned around to her one last time. "Hey, next time we're going to do that in _my_ bed, after _you've_ come out of the closet. Kay?”

"Ha ha. Yang, you have 3 seconds to leave before I push you.” Blake replied.

"Aw, you wouldn't." 

She raised a single dark eyebrow and walked towards the blonde, her hands lifted. 

Before she had even reached her, Yang already disappeared. As Blake looked down into the garden, she saw her straightening herself up and playfully saluting her with two fingers. 

"See ya, Blakey!”

Yang was almost out of earshot, when she quietly shouted: "Hey, Yang?”

The blonde turned around. 

"Thank you...for stopping by." 

Yang only beamed brightly- a moment later, she disappeared into the darkness.

There was something to be said about something so bright being encompassed by pure blackness; but Blake had no clue what it was.


	13. Chapter 13

"And you're _sure_ you're feeling well enough to go to school so soon?"

Blake looked out of the window and rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom, I'm fine. Can I get out of the car now?”

For the last five minutes, they had been sitting in the car in front of the school and argued whether or not she was able to go to class today.

Kali insisted that she should come home with her and stay there for just one more day, but she really didn't want to.

She sighed deeply, as she often did around Blake. "Alright. But if you don't feel good, go home. I won't be able to get you, you'd have to walk, but maybe Sun could give you a ride, right?"

Funny, that her first thought was to ask Sun for help, not Weiss or anyone else. Her mom adored Sun. She probably already had their wedding planned out.

Weiss, on the other hand...they were better but it was complicated.

"Yeah, I guess. Will you or dad be home this afternoon?"

Kali shook her head. "No. We'll be back much later.”

She nodded. That fit her plans perfectly. "Okay. Now can you _please_ unlock the door?" 

She sent Blake a look before finally unlocking it.

Blake got out of the car immediately, pretending she didn't know her when she honked as a good-bye, and made her way towards the entrance.

Weiss and Sun were already there- Sun’s car was already parked in its usual spot in the parking lot. Coffee that only Weiss drank sat in the exposed cup holder.

A bit further away from the building was Yang’s bike; she was leaning against it listening, while Nora was sitting on the curb reading aloud from a textbook. Yang flashed a half-smile as she caught Blake watching her.

Blake nodded towards her, before quickly looking away and pushing through the school's main doors. 

"Oh thank God, you're back," someone suddenly called out from behind her.

She whirled around to see Weiss walking towards her. "Blake, you have absolutely no idea how tiresome it is to be sitting alone with Sun at lunch." 

She raised an eyebrow. "Why’s that?"

Weiss rolled her eyes as she quoted in his voice: "You’re a girl so what do you think? Ya think Blake is irritated? D’you think she still likes me? D’you think Yang has a thing for her or something?" and then added: "My answer was yes to all of them, mind you.” 

"You think Yang _likes_ me?" Blake asked and sent her a surprised glance as they entered the classroom. 

Weiss shrugged before placing a hand on her hip. "Well, she's being rather egregious about it, don't you think? She uses practically every opportunity to talk to you- she even got detention just to spend more time with you after school, She was seen carrying you back to your tent after you ran into the sea at the party..." she said, counting on her fingers. 

Blake couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Weiss, _none_ of that was because she likes me. She’s just being a little shit like always.”

" _Or_ she's just completely smitten.”

"Come on, have you even really looked at her? She could have anyone at this school and they'd be glad to get her attention for a millisecond. Yang knows that I'm not like that." 

"Yes Blake, and that's exactly the reason why she's interested in you." 

She frowned at Weiss while she was sitting back in her chair, legs daintly crossed. Blake folded her arms. " _Sure_. Anyway, uhm..." She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot. Then muttered: "Today I’m going to...um..with Sun.”

Weiss’ blue eyes widened. "Really?"

Blake nodded.

"Are you sure..? Weiss’ voice was careful, but clearly worried. 

"What do you mean?" 

The ice queen shifted around uncomfortably. "Well...a few days ago you ran from him because you hated the mere thought of it and then you suddenly agree to do it? Why?" 

Now it was Blake’s turn to feel uncomfortable. 

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her. "Oh no, please don't tell me you're only doing it because you feel remorseful." 

She avoided her gaze and stared intently at the wall behind her instead. "Weren't you the one who told me to take that step with him when I thought it was right?”

Weiss let out an exasperated sigh. "No, not like that! Certainly not because you feel like you owe him anything.”

"I don't. I just want to...I don't know.. And, as you said, there's no better person than Sun right?” 

Weiss rolled her eyes, knowing that she couldn't change her mind about this. "I think you misconstrued my words.. But just be careful, alright?”

She looked back at the snow-haired girl, who was wearing a resigned expression. "We don't need to have the talk, Weiss," She laughed. "I already know.”

"That's not what I meant but that too," she said and added, more quietly: "Don’t give Sun the wrong idea either, he’s a good guy.”

Blake swallowed. "I know." 

Fortunately, their teacher's arrival interrupted the conversation in that moment and directed Weiss’ attention towards functional equations instead of her and Sun.

+++

"Hey, wake up, Sleeping Beauty," someone whispered and nudged her shoulder.

Blake awoke from her slumber, eyes snapping open just to see Yang sitting next to her with her chin resting atop her hand. The other hand laid on the back of Blake’s chair. 

She pulled it back and pointed at the blackboard, where Oobleck was currently writing down the instructions for the experiment he’d already prepared on the teacher's desk. 

A quick glance at the clock told her that she had dozed off for more than fifteen minutes without anyone noticing. 

She really needed to fix her sleep schedule.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Blake asked and dropped her head back onto the desk. 

She bet Yang had been watching her and laughing her blond ass off for the past few minutes. 

"You looked peaceful, which I hardly see. Plus, honestly, you looked like you needed the nap." 

Well she could give her that one, considering she was right... Even after Yang had left last night, she hadn't been able to sleep for a while, so she’d only slept for roughly two hours. 

Yang, on the other hand, looked enviously, irritatingly _flawless_ as always.

It nearly made her eye twitch.

"Did I miss anything important?" The faunas inquired. 

Yang just shrugged. "Not really. Just Sun trying to wake you up from the other side of the classroom for the last ten minutes." An amused grin spread across her face as she jokingly waved at the monkey faunas, who gave her a nod.

Which was odd...but preferable to them arguing. 

Blake peeked around Yang and smiled at him.

He shook a blonde strand out of his face and widely grinned back. 

"Aren't you tired? At least a little bit?" She asked as she turned back to Yang. 

"No. I'm used to not sleeping much." 

"Why?" Blake inquired with a frown. 

"Maybe because I usually have a _visitor over_ ," She laughed quietly as she saw Blake’s grimace and then said, with a vague gesture: "Fine, it’s because I'm out a lot.” 

"Doing what?" 

She sent her a slightly amused look. "Nothing you’d like." 

"And how would you know?" 

"Okay," she said with a sardonic smile, just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. "You really wanna know?" 

"Yes."

"Great. I'll pick you up someday and you'll see." 

Before Blake could protest, she got up and walked out. 

For a second, she was just confusingly staring after Yang, before seeing Sun waiting for her. She quickly collected her things and walked up to him.

"Hey," he said, giving her a bear hug. 

Dr. Oobleck, whose way they were blocking, cleared his throat behind her, so she quickly took a step towards Sun so he could get through. This resulted in her basically pushing the guy up against the wall. 

He smiled down at her. "How ya feeling?" he asked, still sounding worried. 

Blake shrugged and crossed her arms. "Just tired." 

"I missed you, you know?”

She only smiled. She never really knew how to respond to that kind of stuff. 

"Blake...we’re cool, right?” 

"Weiss told me you were worried about that. Why wouldn't we be?" 

He dropped his hands and scratched the back of his neck, twisting the hairs back there, a habit he’d gotten used to in the sixth grade if she remembered correctly. Blake gently took his larger hands to stop him from fidgeting. 

"On the field trip, you know...I didn't mean to leave you alone when you were drunk. It was my fault that you got sick, not Yang’s. I was with my buddy Neptune and-”

"No, it wasn't," She said sternly. "It wasn't either of your faults. I _chose_ to drink. It's not your responsibility to look after me." 

She would’ve told them both that back at camp, if they weren't acting like children.

"Yeah..I’m not done yet. I'm also sorry for being a dick the next day. I, uh..” He shrugged helplessly, now scratching at the hairs on his chin. ”I got envious, I guess?”

For a moment, Blake was honestly convinced she hadn't heard him right. "What?" 

"Envious, ya know? Yang is this, no offense, extremely hot chick and she just gives me that vibe that she always gets what she wants..." He shook his head. "I _do_ see the way she looks at you.”

"What way?” She blurted out without thinking.

Sun looked up with a grimace, trying to find the right words. "I’m not the best at that poetic stuff. But do you remember the time you told me about the book you read? With the stars, sunsets and souls?”

The book that followed two young adults in a world where one’s soul was the same hue as their other half’s eyes.

Blake had to admit, it was a _tad_ bit concerning that he picked _that_ particular novel. 

Also,

What the fuck?

All she could do was stare, as she tried to comprehend what he had said. When noticing the awkward silence, Blake promptly cleared her throat. "Honestly, Sun..I doubt that. Yang doesn't look at _anyone_ like that."  
  
Nebula had drunkenly mentioned Yang’s commitment issues on the field trip. When everyone expected her to angrily respond, she just looked _blank_. Surprisingly, Nora was the one who got upset before calming down.

She had no idea why that lost memory invaded her mind but it only strengthened her statement. Yang looked at no one like that. Sun was overthinking it.

Sun seemed like he wanted to object, but ultimately just shrugged and threw his arm around her as they walked to the school's doors. "Anyway. That was our last class, so... Wanna chill at my place or somethin’?” 

"Or something," She said with a small smile. "I actually thought we could go to mine today." 

Sun looked curious as to why she was smiling like that, but only said: "Alright, whatever you want. Did you come here with your car?”

"Nope. Mom drove me.”

"Not a problem," He chuckled and fished his keys out of his back pocket.   
  


Soon after, they were driving down the tree-lined roads and eventually stopped in front of her house. Blake mentally prepared herself.

"Wait here," She said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, before she got out of the car and ran up to the front door. 

Inside, she quickly prepared everything, double checking no one was home before returning. Being the gentleman he was, Sun had went around the car and grabbed her things for her.

Carrying two heavy backpacks, he spoke. "Blake, what’s this all about?” He curiously asked as she dragged him inside. 

"Nothing," Blake said and smiled at him over her shoulder. 

When they reached the door to her room, she pushed it open and let Sun enter to set the bags down. 

The quizzical expression didn't leave his face.

The sun was already starting to go down and the light coming through the window tinted everything golden.

The atmosphere was pretty calming, and yet there were nervous emotions building up in the pit of her stomach. Not the good kind like she thought it would be, but an uncomfortable, uneasy feeling. 

She looked over at Sun seeing the look on his face. Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he was already closing in on her. He seemed to pick up on some unspoken action that the room was implying.

Blake gave him a weak smile. She had prepared for this, so why did it feel so..wrong?

She would, at the very least, try for him this time. She repeated that to herself before initiating the kiss to give herself something to focus on.

The kiss was alright, it tasted like his chapstick. 

Sun didn't bother with it for too long, before she followed along; maneuvering her legs to wrap around his waist as he lifted her towards the bed and pulled her on top of it. 

"And you're sure you're okay with this?" He asked breathlessly and stared down at amber eyes for any sign of rejection. 

Her breath caught in her throat for a second. Had she made the right decision? Was this what she wanted? 

But now it just seemed cruel to back away. So she settled on nodding as he pulled her in for another kiss. 

After a few minutes, her hands slid off his neck and under his shirt and down his chest. As she paused, Sun shivered slightly at the cool touch of her hand. She shook her head, moving her hands towards the hem of his shirt; discarding it. 

So far, Blake was surprised by how unspectacular everything was; her heart rate was still rocketing, but she got over it. Kissing him for minutes on end was kind of boring, but it gave her enough time to mentally equip for what was about to occur, even though part of her still couldn't believe she was even going through with this.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Sun started to unbutton her blouse. Turns out, her fingers were shaking so much that he just undid the last couple buttons after she abruptly stopped. She shrugged it off her shoulders, revealing a black bra.

Sun leaned back to really look at her for a moment with a wary, yet content smile on his lips. 

She returned his stare. Most girls probably envied her for having him as a boyfriend. To Blake, he still looked like the boy she had played hide and seek with in primary school, after they’d gotten pretend-married in first grade. 

"What, are you just gonna stare?" He laughed and moved his hand downward, where it rested on her waist. He looked down at her as if to ask permission. 

She nodded slightly and allowed him to pull her jeans all the way down. 

Blake yelped as she was suddenly lifted and flipped around, so that now she was the one on top. 

”That way, you’ll have more control.” Sun laughed quietly.

She took a nervous breath and undid his jeans, until they were both left in only their delicates. 

For a second she felt like she just might faint, her head was spinning and she had trouble breathing, but she quickly calmed down as Sun took her chin into his hand and made her look at him. "It's okay, Blake. It's just me." 

He was right; she had known him since what felt like forever, they had practically grown up together and had been a couple for almost a year. She had nothing to lose, not with him. He had always been there for her, making sure she was feeling alright, and that's what he was doing right now.

Blake could tell that he was trying hard to make this less scary. 

Sun took a breath before quietly saying: "I love you.” They kissed again, even though her lips already felt uncomfortable.

He smiled encouragingly and gently placed his hands in her smaller ones, allowing her to be the one to guide them to the bra clasp at her back. Sun carefully undid it. 

Thereon, everything went pretty fast. The rest of their clothes plummeted to the floor, plastic wrap rustled, and minutes later there was nothing but Sun; his hands gripping her waist, then her hands, his lips on hers, his voice after she squeezed her eyes shut. The immediate unpleasant feeling at least kept her mind busy as she clenched her teeth.

She was off in some kind of daydream all the way through it; everything about the experience was strange and was not a single bit like she’d imagined or like she had heard.

Maybe there was just something wrong with her?

+++

"Blake," a voice whispered next to her and a hand lightly caressed her side. 

Blake sleepily opened her eyes. It took her a moment to understand why she and Sun were in bed, naked. 

Sun smiled brightly at her and rolled onto his side to look at her. By now the sun had set and the room was getting dark.

She pulled the blanket they were laying beneath up higher on her body. She sucked in some air through her teeth at the sore feeling. Under the blanket it was cozy and warm, but outside it had cooled down. 

After he’d finished, he had cuddled up; pulling her into his chest until she eventually just fell asleep. Now that he had woken her up, she wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Uh, I think your parents just came home," Sun said. 

He still seemed to be on cloud nine; while she’d kind of been crashed down onto the ground as soon as it was over. 

Blake had always imagined it to be different, more... special. More meaningful? It wasn't extremely bad, but she hadn't been able to fully give into it much, still feeling uneasy and uncomfortable. 

"Shit," She whispered-shouted and hastily got out of the bed. 

Sun did the same and they began to get clothed. 

"Was it..okay?" He’d asked her when they were standing in front of the mirror as Blake quickly fixed her hair.

Blake smiled at him through the mirror. "Yeah.”

Sun nodded, offering her a wide grin in return.

"I should go. See you tomorrow," he said. After a fleeting kiss, he left the room and ran down the stairs. 

She could hear him saying something to her parents, although her thoughts were too loud to pay any attention. Eventually, she could hear the front door falling shut and the sound of his car driving down the road. 

Blake didn't go downstairs to greet her parents. Instead, she went to the bathroom; staying up in her room all evening, needing some time to think about what had happened and to understand the weird feeling in her stomach. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have 2-4 rough drafts written out but Bean take care of take care of the uploading and my high ass will post unedited drafts and edit them

Six hours after Sun had left, Blake was still wide awake and laying in bed. It was 2 am by now, and she honestly didn't know what to do with herself.

Thoughts and adrenaline were keeping her awake. She replayed the day's events over and over in her head, without being able to make any sense of it.

What she needed the most right now, was someone to talk to. Her parents would've probably fainted if she would have told them about it, so that was obviously not an option. Well, her mom would faint and her dad would’ve already been on his way to Sun’s. Sun would only be hurt if she told him about her feelings on the matter. So Weiss was pretty much the only one who she would tell about everything.

The bed creaked softly as Blake rolled onto her stomach and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. For a second she had to blink into the bright light of her display, but after she dimmed the brightness, she searched her contact list for her best friend.

She quickly typed out a text, asking her if she could call if she was awake.

Just about a minute later she replied: 

_> _ _Are you okay? Is something the matter? P.S If nothing’s wrong, then you absolutely owe me a coffee. Just come over you numbskull._

She wasn't surprised that Weiss was still awake, seeing as she rarely got rest either, considering how hard she pushed herself in academics. Her offer to come over to her house wasn't unexpected either. Blake had done that a couple of times already; it was easy to leave through her window, and her parents never noticed that she wasn't at home in the morning because they usually left before she got up anyway.

After agreeing to come over shortly, the faunas grabbed her school bag and the P.E bag she’d need for school tomorrow. Then she put on a jacket over her blouse, and decided that jeans would be fine. 

When she had everything packed, she turned off the lights, walked up to the window and opened it. Like Yang had done the other day, she swung her legs out and slid towards its very edge. First, she threw the bags out of the window, then, as soon as she heard them hitting the ground, she jumped.

She landed softly in the grass, thanking her feline agility and feeling just a tiny bit like a ninja. She glanced at her window, It was still half open, since she hadn't been able to close it, but that should be fine until tomorrow. It had never been a problem before.

The rest was pretty easy: she just had to cross the garden, leave the property and get to her car that was parked on the street.

When she was inside the vehicle, Blake started the engine and left the house behind as quickly as possible, hoping the sound of the starting car hadn't been enough to wake her parents up. On the other hand, it was too late for them to do anything about it anyway; she was already passing by Yang’s house.

The noirette instinctively looked over at it. In one of the windows facing the street, she could see soft light through closed curtains. She briefly wondered if that was Yang’s room and what she was doing right now.

A glance at the car parked in the driveway answered my question. Just a few days ago she’d seen Nebula getting out of it in the school parking lot. Grimacing slightly, she looked back at the road ahead, pushing away any thoughts of Nebula and Yang and whatever they were talking about.

Luckily, she arrived at Weiss’ place just then and couldn't think about it any longer. She pulled up to the curb and got out, taking her bag with her.

Weiss lived in a nice, well-sized house in an immaculate, tree-lined road with snobby and/or friendly neighbours who were always trying to have the best lawn.

Before Blake could even lift her hand to knock, Weiss was already opening it and pulling her inside. While she was locking the door behind them, Blake removed her shoes and took off her coat.

Weiss waited silently until she finished before they both climbed the stairs up to the floor where her parent's large room and the bathroom was. There was a big guest room too; it had belonged to her older sister, Winter, before she had moved out, so now she was living there whenever she came home to visit her younger siblings. Apparently, they were the ones she wanted to see.

Weiss’ room was located on the next floor. Technically, it was a large attic, but it was _very_ nicely done up: under the high roof pitches was a queen size bed, a wardrobe, a desk that was buried under homework and sheet music, and a bookshelf. Next to it was an entire shelf just dedicated to classical music records. Weiss loved that retro stuff; she even owned a typewriter, just for the aesthetic. Blake loved the pretentious princess all the same.

But her pride and joy was her rapier back when she was a young fencing champion, that was currently laying on her bed. She carefully placed it against the bookshelf so she could sit on the mattress. 

Weiss slumped into one of her bean desk chairs and sent Blake a curious look. "What exactly is this all about?" When she didn't answer for a while, she asked: "Did something happen this afternoon?" 

Blake let herself fall onto her back with an exhausted sigh and draped one arm across her eyes to block the dim light coming from the lamp on her bedside table. "Yes? I don’t know..." she sighed again. "It just..wasn’t how I thought it'd be." 

"What do you mean? Was it...”

Blake almost wanted to laugh, Weiss had zero experience with this but she was a mature person and she was trying. 

She thought about it for a moment. "Uh... not really, no. I mean, it wasn't that bad.. But it was uncomfortable and just...weird honestly.”

"I heard that it's like that for most for their first time, " Weiss pointed out. "Or maybe..I don’t know. I’m not the best person to ask. Maybe, ask someone who has experience with it to-”

Blake cut in, shaking her head. "I'm trying to figure...something out." 

"And that is?"

"I...I'm not sure." She backtracked. 

"Blake, I may have an inkling about what it is," she said, sounding serious all of a sudden. 

She rolled onto her stomach to look at the snowette. "What?" she laughed, trying not to sound uneasy. 

Weiss _couldn't_ know, not if she had only _just_ started questioning it herself. It couldn't be that obvious, could it? A small shiver ran down her spine at the thought.

"Hey, it's..it’s okay if you don't want to talk about it," Weiss said as she observed the look on her face. "But I'm here if you do.” 

Blake shook her head again. "It's not like that. It's not like I _know_ anything. It was just a passing thought." 

"Yes, but it's obviously one that’s bothering you." She waited for a response but upon not getting one she added: "Maybe you should talk to Yang about it?" 

Her heart skipped a beat. "..Why?" 

Weiss shrugged. "Because she's the one with experience that you know well. Also, you can't deny that this is because of her. She made you think.” 

"Yeah, thinking about how satisfying it'd be to punch her in the neck." 

Weiss prettily cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure that’s all?”

 _No._ "Yes." 

She studied Blake’s face for a few more seconds before nodding and getting to her feet. "Alright. Anyway, I think we should get some rest. School starts in..." She glanced at her watch. "Five hours." 

They groaned in unison and Blake got off of her bed. There were a spare mattress and a blanket stored beneath the bed, that she slept on when she was over. She quickly pulled them out and set everything up, while Weiss went to her fancy bathroom to brush her teeth. 

She was asleep before she even came back.

+++

"Blake, I swear if you pull up at that godforsaken tea place- Oh, so you’re just going to ignore me?!”

The rest of Weiss’ shrill protest got cut off by the sound of the door closing shut as Blake got out of the car and headed for the cafe. It was only a small detour, but cranky Weiss was like a damn chihuahua when she went without coffee.

A brunette with long bunny ears grinned at her as she approached the counter. She started working shifts here at this time, so she was often the one making her tea before school. 

She adored anyone who knew how to make her tea right.

"Hey Velvet." Blake greeted and flashed her a small smile. 

"The usual?" she asked in that accent of hers, while adjusting her ponytail. 

"Yep. Also, can you make Weiss’ usual too real quick?”

She nodded, immediately getting to work and preparing it. While she was picking out the change, Blake looked at the word she had written on the cup. A coffee for Ice Queen and a tea for Insomnia.

"Oh, very funny. Just because I look like crap today?" Blake gestured towards her face and at the dark circles underneath her eyes. 

Velvet smiled. "I have no idea what you mean. Now go on, you know my shift is being covered now and we’re both going to be late for school." She announced.

Blake took a sip from her cup and grinned before turning around.

When she arrived at the car, she found a grumpy looking Weiss sitting in the passenger seat, nodding her head to whatever was on the radio. She got in and turned it down. 

"I cannot believe it! You're risking us being tardy just to get tea and chat with Velvet?" Weiss asked resentfully and glared at her.

She shrugged, handing her the cups to hold for while she backed out of the parking space. 

"Yes. Maybe we’ll be late to P.E but really, _nobody_ needs P.E. But do you know what _you_ needed? Caffeine. So drink the coffee Weiss.” 

For a moment Weiss looked like she wanted to throw the cup out of the window along with herself, but then she angrily lifted it to her lips.

"Better?" 

"Bite me," she said, but it was half-hearted. 

By the time their drinks were emptied and they arrived at school, they both were somewhat more awake, but her good mood faded as soon as she entered the gym and headed towards the locker room. Sports were not her thing, especially not this early. 

A few half-naked girls turned their heads when Blake entered the locker room. She looked around for a place to change and found that the only free spot was next to a nearly fully clothed Yang. 

She smirked at the faunas and playfully beckoned her over with her finger.

Blake sighed quietly and walked over to her. When she had to change shirts, she hesitated. She could feel her gaze and tensed at the thought of possibly being watched. Swallowing her discomfort down, she met her lilac eyes and quickly pulled the shirt over her head, until she was left in just her pants. 

Something that seemed like approval flickered in Yang’s eyes for a second. Then, without saying anything, she turned around and left. 

She could breathe normally again as soon as the door fell shut behind her, and quickly changed into the mandatory white tee and shorts for P.E.

Minutes later, Blake was situated in the gym as they prepared to play dodgeball on their own while the coach stepped away. She was on one team while Yang was on the other. 

It all went quite well for a while; she tried not to get targeted by anyone and evaded most of their throws. But as always, a group of unattended teenagers gets very wild very quick.

So yes, everything went well...That was until she got a ball. It felt like a ticking time-bomb in her hands, and she quickly tried to figure out where to throw.

As she threw and threw, red dodgeballs kept getting bounced back to her, keeping her from staying invisible.

Before Blake could even really react, a ball flew inches beside her face; whistling from the wind of such tremendous speed.

Around her, she heard the other team laughing and cheering, as it was only her and Yang who were left now. 

Yang simply smirked after purposely launching another near-miss. She even moved closer to the black line of the court that separated the two teams.

“So, you’re fucking with me right?” Blake spoke up during their standoff.

“Pardon?”

“You’ve could’ve gotten me out by now. You’re not even _trying_ to hit me.”

Yang leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. “Do you _want_ me to hit you?”

Blake gazed into her crimson eyes, challenging her.

Yang had been prancing around, knocking everyone out with the ball with impressive force and a shit-eating grin. So why stop now?

Suddenly, the blonde tilted her head to the side like she was thinking.

“Truce.”

“Truce?” The faunas quizzically inquired.

Yang nodded and raised her fist for Blake to bump.

Blake stared at the hand intently, unsure. Gazing back into eyes that were now a soft lilac, she slowly raised her own hand only for the blonde to grab it.

She pulled Blake closer by her arm, until confused amber we're inches away from amused lilac.

Yang leaned towards her ear; a breath of a whisper. “Gotcha.”

Before Blake had any time to react, a red dodgeball was already being unceremoniously pressed to her stomach.

So yeah, Blake felt a little stupid.

Not as stupid as Yang’s victory dance though, Blake thought, as she rolled her eyes at the display.

"...You could’ve just threw it, you know?”

Yang stopped her celebration to abruptly face her. “What are you? Some kinda masochist?”

“At least _then_ , I would’ve been a masochist with some dignity left.”

The blonde’s grin turned into a giggle as she absentmindedly turned towards the girls heading back into the locker room. “Don’t worry, you won’t have any of that pride left after another game with me. Coco _still_ hasn't forgiven me.”

"Sometimes I forget why I don't like you, but then you never fail to remind me daily." 

Yang laughed again, undisturbed, and patted her shoulder as she passed.

When the two periods were over and they changed into their normal clothes in the locker room, she was convinced Yang was just simply sadistic. Or crazy. Or both.

"Hey Blake?" Speak of the devil.

Blake was just putting her own shirt back on, but stopped for a moment to look at her. "Yes?”

"I just wanted to ask if you're gonna come to the lake this afternoon?" 

She gave her a puzzled look.

"Nora thought it'd be fun to go there," Yang explained. "You, Nora, yours truly, Pyrrha, Coco, Velvet...a few others..I think Weiss actually already said she'd come when Pyrrha asked her.”

"Isn't it still too cold to go swimming?" Blake asked. 

"Aw, it’s only Spring. It'll be fine." She waved her off before thinking about it for a moment. " _Actually_ , you do seem to have the immune system of a gummy bear, so maybe you shouldn't-" 

"I'll be there," Blake said, before she could finish. 

"Awesome," Yang said and flashed her a bright smile. "We're meeting there after school. Just, uh, come whenever ya can.”

With that she slammed her locker door shut and left, not turning around as Blake watched her leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I haven't been getting comments and not being able to answer


	15. Chapter 15

The ringing of the school bell was music to Blake’s ears at the end of her last period and she was out of the door before anyone else had even gotten up. After Gym class had ended, she had been so eager to leave school that the five hours of lessons had been pure torture. Funny how minutes could feel like hours when you were at school.

The two periods of Biology had felt especially long, her partner wasn't even there. Apparently Yang had decided to skip after their conversation in the locker room. Somehow she had a small feeling that her dumb jokes and distracting comments would've made class more tolerable.

She couldn't deny that she was kind of looking forward to today's afternoon by the lake, even though she would never mention that to Yang.

When Blake stepped out onto the parking lot, she saw Sun and Weiss already standing by her car. Sun was talking animated to Weiss, while his blonde tail swayed happily.

"Hey," She said, slipping under the blonde’s arm for a hug.

"I have to stop by to get my stuff," She told Weiss while unlocking the door to her car. "You coming, Sun?”

Weiss sent her a look but didn't say anything.

Sun didn't notice the expression and shrugged. "I heard that you guys are going to the lake, but I didn't think I was invited," he laughed. "You sure that’s okay?”

"Yeah, why not?" 

"Uh, sure then. I have basketball practice first, though, so I'll swing by a bit later." 

She nodded and motioned for Weiss to get into the car. "See you there, then." 

As soon as Blake got into the car and started the engine, Weiss started to rant. "Blake, you can’t keep doing this. It's unfair to the both of you..and Sun is my...friend as well.”

"What?" 

"You have to decide how long you're going to keep...whatever this is, up. It's not fair to lie to him _or_ to yourself.”

"So, what do I _do_?" Blake asked helplessly.

Weiss regarded her with surprising vehemence. "I want you to come clean. First with yourself, then with Sun." She was silent for a moment before she added: "..Then with Yang." 

"What does Yang even have to do with this?" She exclaimed. 

Weiss just stared and folded her arms over her chest. "How should I know? You tell me anything about that," she sulkily said. " _But_ I am seventy-five percent convinced you two have some odd thing going on. Even if you don't want to see it." 

That, she couldn't deny. There was _something_ between her and Yang, though she couldn't name what it was. It felt forbidden, unorthodox, but at the same time it felt righter than anything else she was doing at the moment. Which made it even more alarming. 

"Fine, believe what you want about that," Blake said before she continued, more softly: "But you're right about Sun. Our relationship doesn't feel..right anymore and I think he knows it, too." 

Weiss nodded, satisfied with that answer for now and swiftly changed the topic. "So, I’ve spoken with Winter...”

Soon, she made it home, crossing the street and walking up to the front door. 

As soon as she unlocked it, she heard her mother coming down the stairs.

Blake froze in her tracks and looked up to discover her approaching, gulping as she saw the furious look on her face. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be gone. She had counted on her parents leaving the house early in the morning and coming back late, as they usually did, so that her nightly trip to Weiss’ would stay unnoticed. 

"Blake Belladonna!" she scolded. "Where have you been?”

"With Weiss" Blake quietly replied and looked at her, expecting to be scolded.

Instead her voice got soft, scarily calm, which was even worse. "Did you plan on telling us?"

She thought about lying for a moment before silently shaking her head. 

She could see Kali trying to search her eyes. "What did you do there? Why did you go there in the middle of the night?" 

"I needed someone to talk to," She carefully answered.

The frown that appeared on her face made it clear that she didn't believe her. "What did you have to talk about so badly that you had to leave and tell her personally instead of messaging her or talking to us?" 

She fought the urge to roll her eyes and said: "It's personal.”

Her eyebrows shot up so high they nearly reached her hairline and a worried look finally won over the reprimanding one. "Blake, if you’re having problems, you have to tell us about them. We can help you. We can ask Miss Khan for a few appointments with you..." 

"Mom, I don't need counselling," she said, slowly getting irritated. 

Ms. Khan was a psychiatrist she hadn't been to since she’d been fourteen and she wasn't planning on going there again anytime soon. Just the thought of sitting in her small, tidy office again while she asked how she was doing, made her feel sick. 

_How has your week been, Blake? How are things at home? Nightmares? Anxiety? Do I need to prescribe you any- No, no pills, I'm sorry. Go on then, tell me about what you've been writing in your notebook._

Blake shook her head to chase away the memories and focused on her mom again. She had stepped closer, one hand was hovering in the air between them, reaching out but not yet touching her.

"Mom, I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep and didn't feel like being alone and overthinking. So I went to to Weiss’.”

Kali took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. But if I find your room empty one more time without hearing from you, there _will_ be consequences. You're lucky your father wasn't here to notice. I won't tell him if you promise not to do it again, alright?”

"Thanks, mom. I promise," she said before quickly walking around her and jogging up the stairs towards her room. 

About two minutes later, Blake was back in the car with Weiss, having a bag packed with her swim suit. After explaining why it had taken so long and how her mom had reacted, they spent the drive in companionable silence. Weiss was flipping through radio stations until she found one that played classic hits.

The lake was just about ten minutes away from town, in a pretty deserted area. It was in the empty field between two cities, so there were only few houses around. Not many people even knew of it; it was well hidden in a small forest, with a few high rocks encircling it. The only people coming here were usually students from their school, where the location had somehow grown popular. 

When she and Weiss reached the clearing, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora were already there, even Ren showed up. She hadn't seen Coco or Velvet yet. Much to her dismay, Nebula was there too, currently straddling Yang. Apparently Nebula was adamant.

Blake quickly averted her gaze and looked at Pyrrha and Nora, who were already in the water. As Pyrrha saw them approaching, she got out of the lake and came towards them.

She was dripping wet, wearing a maroon bikini, visibly shaking from the cold but still smiling happily at them. "Hello again! I’m glad you made it.”

"You, obviously, want a swift death." Weiss commented before handing her a nearby towel. 

Blake grinned widely. "Hey. What's Nebula doing here?" She muttered lowly.

The redhead followed her look and grimaced as she saw them making out and said: "I really don't know why Yang invited her. Nebula has been in her face since we arrived here. I asked Yang if she'd come swimming with us, but she didn't want to... Oh, you should try and get her to!

"What makes you think she'll listen to me?" She asked, frowning. 

"I say she will. Five bucks?" She smiled playfully, indulging in one of the many bets that her social circle liked to make.

"Deal, " Blake laughed, just as Weiss returned from her conversation.

Pyrrha offered her a grateful smile as she rubbed the towel on her neck,asking: "Weiss, are you joining Nora and I? It’ll be better with more than 2 people, considering Ren declined.”

Surprisingly, Weiss agreed and disappeared to change. Blake followed and a few minutes later, they returned and, while Weiss and Pyrrha stood back, approached Yang. 

Nebula was still practically sitting in her lap and glared at her when she cleared her throat. 

”Yang?" Blake carefully called. 

Yang looked up at her and beamed. "Blakey!" Then she nearly shoved Nebula off of her lap (she cried out in surprise or disappointment and Blake tried not to laugh) and gave the faunas a once-over. 

"Yeah, hi," She said, kind of nervous because Nebula was still kneeling next to Yang, listening to the conversation. Whenever she talked to the blonde, they were usually alone and so she had trouble finding the right words in company of another. "Um..do you wanna go swimming?”

Yang thought about it for a moment, head tilted to the side, lilac gaze never leaving her, and asked: "With you?" 

Nebula snorted quietly and sent Blake another weird look.

"I mean, if you don't want to, that's okay. It was just a stupid idea I floated and-" 

"Kitten, I haven't even said anything yet," she laughed and rose to her feet. “Sure, I’ll go.”

"Seriously?" The indigo girl snapped and got up herself. 

The look on Yang’s face turned uncaring as she turned her head to her. "What _now_?” 

She flicked a purple, manicured finger at Blake. "They warned me about this. You _honestly_ have a thing for her?" Her cold emerald eyes lingered on Blake’s ears. "I don’t see the appeal.”

For a second it seemed like Yang was going to get mad at her, but then she just grabbed Nebula’s chin and pulled her face closer to hers. "Neb, sweetheart, is it possible that you’re just jealous?" she implored sweetly. 

She looked like she was going to object, but instead she just shrugged almost imperceptibly.

A thin smile played around Yang’s lips as she pulled her even closer. "We talked about this," she muttered calmly, but there was a slight edge in her voice that showed her annoyance. "You’re _not_ my girlfriend. In fact, you aren't even really a friend. _Not_ with that attitude. You said it yourself, I’m a _coward_ , right? This is temporary. You’re well aware, considering _you_ came to _me_.”

Blake was certain that Nebula would yell or cry but she only straightened, raised her chin to look her in the eye, and nodded. 

Yang smiled sardonically down at her before kissing her cheek.

Leaving Nebula standing in shock, she walked up to Blake and laid a hand flat onto her exposed shoulder, gently guiding her closer to the lake. 

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the dark look in her lilac stare, but it was gone as soon as it came. 

"Can we go?" The blonde asked impatiently but not unfriendly. 

Blake nodded, but before she could go she caught her wrist and pulled her closer. 

"You need to stop acting like that," she said sternly and looked up at the taller girl.

She raised an eyebrow and looked down at the fingers that were holding onto her arm, but Blake refused to let go. "Like what?" 

"Like you don't care.”

"I don’t." She retorted.

”I thought you stopped seeing her?”

”I did and I’d be fine either way, ” Yang shrugged. ”She knew what she was getting into when she called me.”

”You talked to her again yet you don’t care?”

”Nope. None of it is...Look, I just don’t okay? All of them? They don’t stand out to me.”

"Then who would?" Blake asked, utterly confused by her words. 

Nebula, among others, were some pretty popular students, and from what she’d heard..that applied to anyone else she had ever been with. Who could even compete with _that_? Who could be special enough for her if not them?

"You do, for one," she said lowly, shrugging.

Blake opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her mind was completely blank, trying to process what she meant. "What are you trying to say?" 

Yang looked at her once more, before she eventually released her wrist from out of Blake’s grip and turned around.

Blake rolled her eyes at her back and quickly caught up with her. She didn't try to inquire further; she’d ended that conversation and obviously didn't feel like picking it up again. 

"Where are you going?" She asked instead.

"You'll see in a sec," she said with a half-smile and continued walking. 

Sighing quietly, she followed the blonde.

They walked in silence until they reached one of the high rocks that surrounded the lake. It wasn't massive, but still high enough to result in possible major injury if you fell.

Yang resolutely strode towards it before reaching for a small ledge in the stone and pulling herself up. As soon as she found something to place her feet on, she climbed up even higher. 

"What are you even doing?" Blake asked and watched with growing concern as she scaled higher and higher. 

"What does it look like? Follow me, if you want," she said and could practically hear the grin in her voice. 

Blake just watched for a while, uncertain, but ultimately took a deep breath and followed her lead. 

The rock was cold and sharp beneath her fingers, but she focused on the goal instead of the pain and climbed higher. It felt like ages until she reached the top, and by the time she got there her arms were aching and her hands were scratched up. Gathering all her strength one last time, she pulled herself over the edge. 

For a moment she just laid there, panting and gasping for air, shaking her arms to get rid of the tension. Then she finally looked up and glanced around for the first time. 

The rock was definitely higher than it had looked from down there; the ground appeared miles away from up there and she could even see the road where her car was parked. 

Yang was sitting on the very edge of the rock, feet dangling over the abyss. She turned around to look at her as she heard Blake approaching and flashed an approving smile. "That's why," she said as the faunas carefully sat down next to her, but crossed her legs instead of dangling them over the edge. When she kept quiet in silent question, Yang said: "That's the reason why you're not like the others, I mean.”

"Because I'm stupid enough to follow you on your suicidal adventures?”

Yang laughed quietly and lifted her hand to her face to make the feline faunas look at her. Blake shivered slightly at the hand that cupped her cheek as she gently turned her face towards her. "Well _that_ absolutely went over your head, yeah?"

"So, what are we doing up here?" She asked when the blonde didn't explain any further on what _that_ was supposed to mean, and tried not to focus on how fast her heart was suddenly beating. 

Yang dropped her hand to rest in the small space between them and said, as if it was the most obvious thing: "Jumping.”

"You _cannot_ be serious." 

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "As a heart attack. It's not even that high." 

"Like hell it isn't!" Blake said, unable to keep her voice from jumping an octave higher as she stared down into the lake below. It _looked_ high. 

"It's not that scary, I promise. Don't you trust me?"

She sent her a blank stare. "Nope, if I'm completely honest." 

"Then be less honest, I wouldn't have asked if it was actually that bad," Yang replied, and grabbed onto her hand. "We can jump together then, okay?" 

Silently counting to ten before she looked at her, Blake inhaled deeply. Then muttered: "Alright. Heh, and you call _me_ a masochist.”

Yang shrugged again, smirking triumphantly. "Good enough for me. Ya gotta take risks _sometimes_ , you know?Sometimes it's a _good_ thing to stop questioning things and to just jump in and let yourself fall." 

"Yang, your metaphors are just getting worse and worse.”

The blonde turned around to face her, with her whole bikini-clad body this time, so that she was sitting cross-legged in front of her. "That doesn't mean that they aren’t true. Blake, I _know_ that you know I'm right. I'm not trying to pressure you to do something you don't want or anything you're aren't ready for. But I _also_ see how you react when I do things..." She leaned closer and cupped her cheek again, lightly drawing circles into the faunas’ skin with her thumb, watching as goosebumps travelled up her arms. "Like _that_. So maybe I wanna help you figure this out?”

There's no _this_ , she wanted to say, but the words got stuck in her throat and instead of speaking them out loud, she lowered her head to escape the determined look in her eyes. 

"It's fine," Yang responded quietly, her breath brushing her neck. "There's no hurry. And if you want me to stop..all you need to do is ask.”

"No," Blake said, just as quietly, and finally looked her in the eye. "I-I don't want you to..”

A look of barely suppressed relief washed over her face. "So... are we jumpin’ in together?”

"Yeah." She smiled nervously at her and rose to her feet. 

"Wait, is that a yes to jumping off the rock or to the metaphor?" Yang asked and scrambled to her feet as well. 

Blake just laughed and stepped closer to the edge. "If you don't hurry, I _will_ take that back." 

Yang was next to her in a heartbeat and held her hand out for her to take, not without sending her a glance that seemed to ask for permission. 

The faunas pondered this for a moment, then looked down and made her decision. Yang seemed surprised, almost incredulous, when she slid a hand into hers and carefully intertwined their fingers. 

She gulped, partly in fear of the jump, partly because of the guilty feeling burning in her stomach, partly because Yang’s mere touch sent a jolt up her arm. 

"You sure you’re ready?”

"Not really," Blake said, unconsciously tightening her grip on her hand. 

"I’m right here with you," Yang asserted. "One... two... three." 

Her heart skipped a beat as she said the last number and they stepped over the edge. 

The fall seemed to last a life time; her eyes were shut as the air was rushing past her ears and she waited for her feet to hit the water. Somewhere along the way her hand slipped out of Yang’s, but she didn't even notice as the adrenaline of the fall rushed through her system. Soon she resurfaced, gasping for air and laughing hysterically. 

The water was definitely too cold to go swimming, but she couldn't really care less. Next to her, Yang resurfaced, shaking out her blonde mane, with a wide grin on her face as she swam towards her.

"That was fun. Can we do that again?" Blake asked in delight. 

"Nope, " Yang laughed and splashed some water at her. "Last time I let you swim, you couldn't go to school for a week. I'd prefer to get you out of the water as soon as possible, actually.”

"Since when are you so worried about me?" 

"Since you damn-near got Pneumonia. Besides, the others are probably waiting on us.” 

She nodded and swam towards the jetty with her. 

Pyrrha and Weiss came running with towels as soon as they got out of the water. 

"What took you guys so long?" Pyrrha asked and draped the towel around Yang’s shoulder.

She thanked her with a broad smile, while Weiss just threw the towel at Blake.

She caught it before it could hit her face and stuck her tongue out at the snowette. "We were just talking, " Blake explained. 

Pyrrha stared at Yang for a moment. The blonde stared back before presumably catching onto something. ”Ohh! No, she _literally_ meant just talking.”

"Sun just arrived," Weiss announced, sending Blake a pointed look. "You should say hello."

Blake tried not to show that she had nearly forgotten about his arrival and that she invited him here, and walked back to where she could see him sitting. 

"Put some dry clothes on first!" Yang shouted after her. 

"Duh!" She answered, running to change back into her clothes. 

Five minutes later she was already feeling warmer and sat down on a blanket next to the others. Sun was chatting with Ren, while Jaune was laying next to them. Even further away was Nebula, still lazing around in her violet bikini and glaring as she sat down next to the monkey faunas. 

"Yo!" Sun said and attempted to kiss her, but she guiltily turned her face into the other direction and pretended she had to cough. 

He didn't try it again afterwards. Instead, he picked up the conversation with Ren and after a minute she joined in too.

Shortly after, Yang returned, fully dressed and carrying her bag and a towel, and sat down right next to her.

"I hear there's a party at Yatsu’s tomorrow," Nora said. "Any of you planning on making an appearance?" 

Blake was about to politely decline, when Weiss, defiant as ever, suddenly said: "That sounds fun. When does this start?”

"Around eight."

"We're going, right, Blake?" Weiss gazed at her pleadingly.

"Sure," she said slowly, somewhat confused.

After she had agreed, Yang was next to comply so, naturally, all of her friends followed. Sun was the only one to decline.

About half an hour later, they all gathered their stuff and walked back to the cars. Before she walked over to Yang’s car, Pyrrha came up and pressed a crinkled five dollar bill into her palm, an unreadable look in her green eyes, somewhere between concern and approval. Then she turned around and walked off towards her ride.

"Blake." Yang shouted just as she was about to get into her car. "Today was nice." 

She just smiled timidly and waved one last time before getting into the car. For the entirety of the ride back, Blake could still feel the weight of Yang’s gentle fingers against her cheek and her hand holding onto hers.

She was so conflicted.


	16. Chapter 16

The next day at school passed by in a blur. It was all a mix of sitting in class, listening to the sleep-inducing ramblings of the teachers, talking to Sun and Weiss in the hallways during breaks, and quickly going through her notes for the English exam in her final period before class. The exam itself was rather easy; English was her favorite subject at school and she usually didn't even have to study for it. 

The only interesting part of the day was meeting Yang and her friends for lunch. She hadn't even planned on doing so, but as soon as she, Weiss, and Sun entered the cafeteria, Pyrrha called them over to their table. Somehow she sat down and ended up trapped between Sun and Yang. 

The irony was not lost on her. 

Weiss sat on the opposite side of the table, between Pyrrha and Nora. Coco was nowhere to be seen, and when she asked where she was, they all just shrugged vaguely. 

The whole table quickly got involved in a more or less enthusiastic conversation about prom, which was going to take place in a few months. Blake didn't really care about such events, especially since she couldn't shake off the feeling that uneasy feeling about it, so she didn't bother to contribute to the discussion. 

Unfortunately, her silence didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, Blake, do you know if you'll come?" Jaune asked, with his mouth still full of spaghetti. 

"I don't know," She mumbled evasively. "Probably not. I'm not really into that kind of stuff." 

"Oh come on, of course you'll go," Yang said. "Who else is going to vote for me for prom queen!”

"You think I'd vote for you?"

Yang grinned smugly. "Obviously. I’m _ir_ resistible." She pointed at her own smiling face and laughed in amusement as Nora flicked a grape at her.

"I’m pretty sure you’re resistible," Blake shot back, smirking.

She immediately regretted her words upon seeing her lilac eyes darken. "Mm. _I'm_ pretty sure I could change your mind," Yang said, low enough for only her faunas ears to hear and flashed a suggestive look from underneath her long lashes. 

Next to her, Sun cleared his throat, directing the attention back to him. 

"Of course we're going, Blake! We can't miss this year's prom. Anyone know what the theme is?”

Blake shook her head. 

"The theme is fairy tales..., but mainly anything that has to do with books, really," Pyrrha explained. 

A smile tugged at Blake’s lips at the general excitement around her. That particular theme was practically calling her name but as she said, not her thing.

"Everything will be decorated in a fantastical sense, like a ball room in a castle. We're even planning on setting up a little fountain in the middle of the gym, just for the evening of course..." 

"Are you in the committee?" Blake inquired.

Before the redhead could even open her mouth to answer, Yang said: "Oh, she's doing pretty much every voluntary activity you can do at this school. She's in the festive committees, school paper with Velv, she tutors, shows the freshies around.. " Her voice was mocking, but admirably fond. ”Man, you have _got_ to see this girl throw a javelin.”

"You forgot the student council, " Pyrrha chuckled and absently toyed around with the bracelet on her wrist.

"That's pretty cool!" Sun said, clearly amazed. 

Weiss looked extremely impressed herself.

Blake just stared at her with a horrified expression. "How do you even have time for anything else?”

She just shrugged. "Good time management, I suppose." 

"How are you friends with _her_?" She asked incredulously and pointed at Yang, who put a hand over her heart in mock offense.

"What did I do?” Yang asked.

"I mean...Pyrrha is so sweet and passionate about school and you're..." Blake trailed off and gestured at the blonde, who was lounging in her seat trying to catch Nora’s grapes in her mouth.

Yang popped a grape into her mouth and smirked. "I've known her for a while..and she's not that much of a good girl as she seems." 

She and Pyrrha both exchanged a knowing laugh, leaving the rest of them wondering what that was about."So, not to be creepy but...have the two of you ever, you know..." Sun implored nervously, asking what Blake had wondered about for weeks.

The redhead seemed puzzled for a second before understanding. She covered her mouth, laughing. "Oh no, not at all. She’s... No, that wouldn't have worked out at all.”

Yang nodded but added: "We kissed once, though. Two years ago, I believe?”

"Yes, we were sixteen. It was at a party, a dare. It was just wrong, like kissing a cousin or something." After a moment she hastily added: "Not because she's not a good kisser, of course. I already have to endure the stories that confirm that.”

For some reason, Pyrrha looked directly at Blake during that last sentence, so she felt obliged to mutter: "I wouldn't know."

She immediately cursed herself for saying that as everyone around her cracked up laughing, while Sun stared confused. 

Yang turned around to face her and her smile was obviously a neon sign that said: _’We could change that.’_

Blake swallowed hard and stared down at her fingers which were nervously fiddling around in her lap, until she was sure that Yang had looked away. She still hadn't when she looked up again and was staring at her face with an expression she couldn't quite read.

Before anyone could say something, Nebula suddenly marched up to the table, heels clicking loudly against the floor. She barely looked at any of them, not even Pyrrha as she greeted her politely, and only had eyes for Yang. As she saw the shortage of seats, she simply sat down on the edge of the table, leaning towards the blonde girl.

"Hey, babe," she purred, leaning further in for a kiss.

Yang looked at Blake for a split second before hesitantly going with the flow.

The faunas tried to keep her face neutral, but couldn't hide at least the tiniest expression of annoyance. Nebula was pushing Yang’s tray aside and shifted so that she was fully sitting on the table. Judging by the way Nora and Pyrrha rolled their eyes, they didn't approve of it, but had witnessed it so often that they had simply stopped caring. 

She leaned away from the kissing pair as far as possible, until she was nearly sitting in Sun’s lap, and quietly asked Pyrrha: "So this happens often?”

The redhead nodded with a haunted expression. "Yeah. Yang often ends up with the...” She and Nora shared a sad look before she continued. ”..Clingy type of people. Those who seem to follow her anywhere, always available .." she trailed off as she saw her face. "Anyway, it's..concerning. You have no idea how many disagreements Nora and I had with her about it but in the end she's right when she says that it's their choice. She’s never the one to ask anyone first or to actively do something for the relationship. It's always them who basically offer themselves."

"Why? And, no offense, but why would anyone get with her then?" Sun asked, sounding curious.

”I think...I think she’s running away from them before they can do it to her.” Pyrrha replied.

Blake scratched the back of her arm, feeling quite uneasy all of a sudden.

Nora shrugged. "And as for why people get with her? I mean, just look at her. That girl is capital-b _Blessed_. And I guess that bad ass bravado thing really works for her too, huh? Apparently, being all self-assured and uncaring works better than being herself.”

Blake looked over at Yang once more, taking in the image of how Nebula played with her hair. Somehow she had to fight down the urge to reach out and push her off the table, but she was sure Yang probably wouldn't approve that.

Luckily, before her self-control could come to an end, they broke away fully. Yang’s cheeks were slightly flushed and her hair was even more tousled than before, but other than that she seemed calm and collected. 

The blonde then pulled her phone out as she received a message.

Nebula looked as if she was going to say something, at the very least snarl a bitchy reply, but then she gracefully slid off the table. Before she left, she gave Blake another dirty look. 

She was seriously getting tired of that, but settled for raising a brow at her before the faunas turned back to Yang. "Was that really necessary?" She couldn't hide the small bite in her voice.

Yang seemed entirely unimpressed. "Jealously is a good look on you.”

On the other side of the table Weiss nearly choked on the sip of water she had just taken.

"Not jealous. Annoyed," Blake retorted, "Because whenever I'm near you, you end up making out with someone next to me and I've got better things to do than watch that. Plus, I always end up getting glared at and I'm not even doing anything besides existing!"

Yang nodded, still staring at her phone. ”I'll pick you up at eight."

For a moment she didn't realize that she was talking to her. When she did, all she could do was blurt out: "Pardon?”

"I'll pick you up," she replied slowly. "We'll go to the party together."

It was only then that Blake remembered that she had agreed to go to that stupid party with them. "No, we won't! I have a car," she objected.

"See you at eight." Yang grinned, ignoring the reply, and walked off, not without stealing a fry from Nora's plate beforehand.

"Unbelievable," She huffed.

"Yeah, unbelievable," Sun echoed, laughing quietly.

+++

Despite her initial objections to Yang’s offer, she was ready to leave as soon as eight o' clock came around. Also ready to throw up, because she was a nervous wreck. 

Social events weren't her thing, but social events where everyone was drunk was always a little much.

She had yet to figure out why a bunch of extroverts wanted to drag an introvert to these situations.

If it hadn't been for Weiss, she would probably have cancelled already. But she had told her she’d be there and she couldn't just let her go there all by herself. Poor thing would blow a fuse. Aside from that, Yang was going to pick her up at her house, and she knew that if she didn't go with her voluntarily, she probably wouldn't stop annoying her about it until she did. 

So there she sat...anxiously waiting for her to arrive, while she looked in the mirror once again. She had put a touch of makeup on, wearing a white crop top and dark jeans since she’d be on a bike. Though she tried to imagine how comfortable the ride would be because of the slim-fitting jeans anyway.

Needless to say she was feeling like an idiot in these clothes now, but before she could go back and change into something else, the door bell rang. She nearly jumped at the sound and rushed down the stairs. 

A little out of breath, she opened the door, only to have even more trouble breathing when she saw the blonde.

She was wearing short ripped shorts and a leather jacket over an even shorter shirt that made her tanned skin appear lighter than it actually was, so her lilac eyes stood out even more. So did the dark eyeliner that edged them, but in combination with her tousled hair they strangely made her look even more... _dangerous_? _Intriguing_? It was hard to describe Yang, but right now, standing in the fading light on the front porch, she was a sight worth taking a photo of.

And was that a car for once? Now, Blake was really upset with herself. She could’ve wore whatever she wanted..

To make matters worse, she had already embarrassed herself enough by staring at her for what felt like hours.

"Hi," Blake greeted, trying to sound like a normal person. ”Car?”

"Hey," she said, with a strange smile forming like she’d just thought of a joke that only _she_ got. ”Yeah. It’s my Dad’s. He usually leaves his car and goes with my mom. He only comes over to bring Ruby sometimes...so Just in case you know?”

When Blake only nodded, Yang stepped closer and gestured at her outfit. "Cute.”

"Thank you," She said, nervously clenching and unclenching her hands.

"You are _very_ welcome," was all she said. 

Blake shrugged uncomfortably, feeling uneasy as always when someone randomly complimented her. She grabbed her coat from its hook, shutting the door behind her and stepping out onto the porch. The air was surprisingly warm, she could tell that it was nearly June. Spring had been cold this year, but it was slowly getting warmer.

"Can we go?" She asked. 

"We can." Yang nodded. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Just anxious," She admitted. 

Yang hesitated for a moment, looking around, before she came closer and carefully reached for her hand. She stopped inches away from making skin contact, giving her enough time to slap her hand away in case she didn't want to be touched. 

Blake met her eye, slowly nodding subtly. She smiled slightly and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. She was holding it carefully as if she'd thought she’d break it if she squeezed too tight. 

They stayed like that for a moment, Yang holding her hand, her thumb laying on her wrist. It took Blake a while for her to realize that she was checking her pulse, waiting for it to slow down. 

Her heart was always fast when she got anxious and somehow she realized this and waited patiently for her to calm down. As of now, it wasn't just the anxiety that was making her heart race, though. 

"That's not gonna slow down anytime soon with you holding my hand," She eventually said, laughing nervously.

Yang frowned in confusion, before understanding flashed in her eyes. Instead of the smug grin she’d expected, her eyes widened. "Oh."

Blake just nodded and tugged lightly at her hand. "...Are we going?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, but she still seemed to be contemplating.

That didn't change throughout the ride to the party and even though she was talking as she usually did, Yang seemed strangely quiet. 

The party was thrown by Yatsuhashi, he was on the football team, too, and apparently lived in a huge house in one of the bigger, quiet neighborhoods. At least she _suspected_ it usually was quiet; right now, however, there was loud music blasting out of the house and noisy teenagers were hanging around in the front lawn of his house. Red plastic cups scattered the grass as both girls crossed the lawn to get to the front door.

"Hey, Blakey, can you do me a favor?" Yang asked before she opened the door. 

"Depends what it is?"

" _Please_ don't drink as much as you did on the trip, yeah?"

Blake rolled her eyes at her and opened the door herself. As soon as she entered the house, the sound level got five times louder and it was starting to bother her ears. People were standing everywhere, dancing, drinking, making out. There really wasn't much space and she immediately felt like she couldn't breathe. Big crowds in tight spaces were horrible. She felt like she was about to hyperventilate, when Yang’s gentle hand on her arm interrupted her thoughts. 

As soon as her fingers closed around her wrist and her thumb softly pressed against it, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. Blake gratefully squeezed her slim fingers while as they pushed through the crowd until they reached another, less crowded room. Here, the music was far more quiet so people could converse and Blake highly preferred that. 

Yang smoothly let go of her hand when she spotted their friends on one couch in the room. 

Weiss was sitting next to Pyrrha; both seemed pretty tipsy already and were weirdly talking about school and laughing. Next to them, Nora and Coco were currently sharing a bottle that looked like it contained hard liquor and was alarmingly empty already.

Before Blake could cross the room to get to them, a tall guy with dyed-silver hair suddenly appeared in front of her. He grinned down at her. "Hey, Blake right?" The way he slurred his words was enough of a tell to his non-existent sobriety.

She nodded hesitantly.

"Wanna drink? Coke?" He held out a red cup for her to take.

"Um, sure. Thank you," Blake smiled and took the cup, before Yang suddenly plucked it out of her hand and growled at the guy.

"Really Mercury? Is that what we’re doing?" She berated. The look on her face was murderous. "Don’t talk to her, don’t even look at her. I will feed you your own ballsack.”

Blake stared at her in astonishment and quickly pressed a hand on her arm as she stepped towards the guy. "Yang, what the-"

"Why don't _you_ just drink this instead?" Yang asked with narrowed red eyes and pushed the cup back into the hand of the guy.

He stared down at it in mild hesitance for a moment before he glared at Yang and dropped the drink in a trash can next to him. 

"That’s what I thought," She snarled. "Now turn around and go. Yeah, that way." She pushed him towards the door and only turned her back to him when he was out of the room.

Then she returned, still blazing. "Blake, you are way too pretty not to attract unwanted attention. Friendliness doesn't make them your _friend. Burn_ that in your head.”

Blake nodded silently, feeling somewhat bad while Yang still looked like she was ready to break someone's neck.

The blonde must've seen a hint of that concern in her eyes, at least her voice was softer when she continued: "That drink was most definitely spiked. Mercury is an ass and has a reputation for experimenting with some weird shit, okay? Never drink something you didn't pour yourself or anything that you haven't supervised yourself.”

"Sorry," She muttered.

”Don’t be.” Yang looked at her for a few more seconds before turning around abruptly, leaving her in the crowd.

+++

About two hours later, Yang had still not re-appeared and she had no idea where she’d gone. Blake was still hanging around the living room, talking to a few people she briefly knew from some of her classes. 

”Blake, where are you best friend?”

She rolled her eyes as Weiss yelled that sentence so loudly that everyone in earshot turned around to stare at her. She was definitely inebriated... 

"Over here, Weiss!" Blake called, although in a lower voice.

It took Weiss a while to walk towards her through the crowd, and when she finally accomplished it, she had to lean onto me for support for a second. 

Now Jaune was bringing Pyrrha home (turned out he hadn't drank that much and it had been Nora who had downed almost the entire bottle they had been passing back and forth on her own), while she was dragging Weiss out of the house. In her drunk state, Velvet offered to take her back.

She steered Weiss outside, along with Velvet who gave the younger girl a pat on the back.

After she was safely in the car, Blake went back inside to check on Yang. Since she had given her a ride here, she had to drive home with her now. Of course I could've asked Velvet to drive her home, too (Blake knew she would've done that), but she didn't want to leave without telling her. 

Blake didn't have to look for her for too long, because as soon as she entered, she saw her attempt to walk down the stairs. It was weird seeing her moving like this, seeing as she was usually so graceful. Sometimes.

She rolled her eyes as she saw who was trailing behind her; obviously Nebula was here too, clinging onto her as she always did. Her red lipstick, smeared all over her face and neck, was evidence enough of how she decided to treat Yang’s current state of mind.

"Yang!" Blake shouted and waved her over. 

The blonde immediately spotted her and crossed the room surprisingly quick. "Blake, heeey, how’re we doing?" She asked, voice darker than usual.

"Oh my god, you're _wasted,_ " she replied.

"That was the objective here," Yang said, laughing with no concern.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Blake sighed and reached for her arm, but Nebula suddenly slapped her hand away.

"Don't you dare touch her!" As soon as she opened her mouth Blake could tell that she hadn't been drinking much, if anything at all. 

"I just want to get her home so she can sleep it off," she explained.

She narrowed her green eyes at her and put a possessive hand on Yang’s shoulder. "She’s fine. I want to stay here with her for a bit longer."

Something about the way she made decisions for Yang without asking bothered her, so Blake turned to face her directly. "Yang, do you want to stay here or do you want to go home?”

A lazy smile spread across her face. "Yeah.”

“Yes to which part?”

“I’ll go anywhere with you, sweetheart...”

Blake flashed Nebula a victorious grin. "See. You can't keep her here if she doesn't want to stay.” 

With that she took hold of Yang’s hand and guided her away. She’d only come a few steps far, when long nails suddenly dug into her shoulder and forced her to turn around. 

Nebula offered a gloating smirk as she saw her wincing. "Blake, you're _really_ starting to get on my nerves."

"The feeling's mutual," Blake retorted, laughing, but she went on as if she hadn't said anything.

"What's your plan behind all of this, huh? Just to win her over?" She jabbed a finger at her. "You wouldn't even know what to do with her once you got her."

She shrugged, keeping her face stoic. "You're right, which is why I'm not trying to do anything with her in the first place. I'm not trying to get her to like me. I'm not trying to ruin whatever you two have going on, either. So I don't know why you despise me so much, or why you can't stop blaming me when you fail to get through to her. Maybe she just really prefers being with, you know... _nice_ people."

She didn't wait for a reaction. Instead she demonstratively put a steadying hand on Yang’s shoulder and walked her outside. When she reached the car, she swiftly reached into her pocket and took out the car keys.

"Do you mind if I drive?" Blake asked out of courtesy, even though she knew for sure that she wouldn't let her drive in the state she was in.

She shook her head. “Dont wreck my dad’s car.” She walked around the car to get into the passenger seat. Once they were both seated, Blake backed out of the street and onto the road. 

By now it was two a.m. and she started to get tired. So did Yang, apparently; it didn't even take her a minute to doze off next to her.

She had to smile just a tiny bit as she realized that she was snoring quietly, and reached over her to fasten her seat belt, something that she had forgotten to do. 

A few minutes later, they arrived at her house. For a moment, she was just sitting there, watching her sleep peacefully, before gently tapping her shoulder to wake her up. Upon not getting any reaction, she lightly laid a hand to her cheek, stroking it just a little bit. Yang sighed contentedly and snuggled deeper into the touch.

"Yang.” 

She reluctantly opened her eyes, groaning. "Whaaat?”

"I know, I know," She laughed. "I think you’d prefer being in a bed though.”

"Mhm."

It took another two minutes and lots of persuasion until she finally got out of the car so she could lead the blonde up to the front door. 

Blake unlocked it as quietly as possible and ushered her inside. "Where's your room?"

She didn't answer, just shuffled up the stairs, holding tightly onto the handrail since her walk was still swaying. Eventually, they reached a closed door, which she pushed open. Inside, she didn't bother to turn on the light and just plopped onto the bed, where she was laying on her stomach for a moment. 

Blake chuckled quietly and shut the door behind her before walking towards her bed. The room was big, bigger than hers. The biggest piece of furniture was undoubtedly the bed; it was filled with pillows and even one stuffed dragon. 

Next to the bed there was a pile of books and on top of it was a reading lamp that she flicked on.

Yang rolled over onto her back and blinked into the bright light. "Are you going to come into the bed now, or what?" She asked it with a casualness that indicated it definitely wasn't the first time she had asked that question.

"Absolutely not," She said, but still sat down on the edge of the mattress. "Do you want to change into something more comfortable?”

She seemed to think about it before she just shrugged and pulled her jacket off then pulled the shirt over her head, throwing it carelessly onto the ground.

Blake’s eyes widened at the boldness and felt the need to avert her eyes.

Her shorts followed, until she was left in her undergarments. For a second, she feared she'd have the nerve to take those off too, but then she just let herself fall back into the pillows, pulling up the blanket. Blake breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Where's the kitchen?" She asked.

Despite her slurred speech, she was able to describe where it was surprisingly well, so she was able find it without much trouble. Once she crossed the threshold, she took a glass out of one of the cupboards.

As she started to fill the glass with water. The sound of footsteps caught her attention.

She turned around and almost jumped to the ceiling.

”Who are you!” The younger girl yelled.

”Im not some kinda of thief, I’m here with Yang, I swear.”

”Are you one of her girlfriends?”

”No, No! Just a...friend. You’re her sister right?”

”Well friend, thats my cue to leave. See ya!” The silver-eyes girl announced. “Also if you steal my cookies or strawberry...we fighting.”

”Noted.” Blake watched the brunette return to the guest room. Blake figured it’d be better to leave.

As soon as she was back in her room, Blake helped her sit up and held the glass to her lips. She downed it willingly after she explained that she wanted her to drink it in order to prevent a massive hangover.

Afterwards, she pushed her back down onto the mattress. Yang stared up at her with mild curiosity, through half-lidded eyes that refused to stay open much longer. 

She bent down and pulled the blanket all the way up to her chin, since she was half-naked and her room wasn't exactly warm. 

Blake didn't know what it was, if it was something about the way she couldn't quite keep her eyes open or how some blonde strands of hair fell into her face, but something about the way she was laying there, looking sleepy and peaceful, was enough to give her a weird feeling.

She knew that it was stupid and she knew that it was wrong of her, but just for a minute, she was able to push all of those thoughts aside and bent down once more. It wasn't exciting or scandalous; it was nothing but a chaste kiss she placed just below her dimple, but dangerously close to her lips.

A sleepy smile appeared on Yang’s face as her hand slipped out from under the blanket and touched her cheek, just where her lips had brushed it. 

For a second, fear boiled in the pit of her stomach, thoughts running wild, but she quickly suppressed it. 

Yang was drunk out of her mind; she probably wouldn't remember any of it anyway. It was stupid to worry about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry 4 editz


	17. Chapter 17

The weekend after the party had been torturous. Blake had woken up late on Saturday and had been over at Weiss’ house to see how she was doing. Unsurprisingly, Weiss had a tremendous headache from the hangover, the first one she ever had, and hadn't really been able to do anything. 

Blake sat down in her desk chair beside her bed all afternoon, doodling in her notebook, while they listened to music. Turns out that her parents hadn't been as mad as she would’ve thought considering she had drank something at the party. Her mother was still disappointed but got over it regardless, she said it was better to find out now as an irresponsible child so she would make smarter decisions in the future. Jacques, however, refused to comment.

People often say Weiss doesn't know how lucky she is; Blake would've been grounded until her nineteenth birthday but Blake’s parents also wouldn't treat her like a disappoint. Weiss’ mom, Willow, is an alcoholic and doesn't want to see her go down the same path. Because both Schnee women know why they drink, and his name is Jacques Schnee.

After knowing that, it’s not hard to imagine why a sheltered child wished to be defiant.

The girls had also talked about everything that had happened at the party, starting with Weiss talking about what a great time she’d had with Pyrrha, which quickly turned into her being impressed at her academic endeavors.

All along Blake had considered telling her about how she had kissed Yang on the cheek, but then she decided not to. Weiss probably wouldn't have been too pleased, especially since she was still technically with Sun.

So she kept it to herself and thought about it and the consequences it might have all weekend. Yang hadn't texted or called and even though she had thought about trying to talk to her, she hadn't done it in the end. Mainly because Blake wouldn't have known what to say ( _Hey, sorry that I kissed you on the cheek? Apparently being around Mercury and Nebula gave me brain damage)_ but also because she didn't want to embarrass herself further in case she did remember any of it. A kiss on the cheek surely was nowhere near as exciting as the things Yang had done already and she'd probably laugh if she knew how much it had mattered to Blake. 

Altogether, she didn't know what she was hoping for when Blake got out of her car on Monday morning. She just had this fluttery feeling of anticipation in her chest when she looked around the parking lot and searched for either her friends or Yang’s.

In the end the faunas found them both. Weiss was standing with Yang, Jaune and Ren and, to her surprise, Sun was with them, too.

Blake smiled feebly at him before saying hello to the others. 

Weiss was looking significantly better than she had two days ago and if Coco and Pyrrha had been hungover, they were back to looking like models from a magazine by now. 

Yang was the last one she forced herself to look at and Blake was definitely not surprised when she saw that she was watching her intently. She met her lilac gaze for a split second before quickly looking down at her shoes instead. 

"Hey, uhm...how was the party?" Sun asked, trying to reanimate the conversation that had stopped when Blake had arrived, and nudged her with his elbow. 

She cleared her throat and looked at him. "It was alright. I was mainly just looking after Weiss, though," Blake said, grinning.

"You didn't have to, I was doing absolutely just fine!"

"Yeah right, if I hadn't been there to hold you back you would've joined the game of strip poker they were playing upstairs," Blake said, raising a brow as Weiss scowled.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in you ice queen," Nora laughed.

"Hey, you shut your mouth," Blake laughed and pointed at her. "You were already on your way upstairs, yelling about being queen of the castle. Ren had to drag you back."

Nora turned around to shoot Ren an incredulous look. 

He just shrugged, with a nonchalant small smile: "Can confirm."

"I can't even remember that!"

"Oh, don't worry, Nora, I wouldn't remember anything at all if I had drunk as much as you did," Yang commented, leaning against the car.

Pyrrha wrinkled her nose for a second before she shrugged. "Do _you_ remember everything, Yang?"

Blake suddenly straightened and looked at her. That was an answer she wanted to know as well.

Yang didn't seem to notice her sudden interest and answered nonchalantly. "I remember picking up Blake and driving there. Then she nearly drank something that was definitely spiked because Merc is a fucking idiot..." She sent a meaningful look. "Afterwards I drank a lot, so that's where everything's getting kinda blurry. I just know that towards the end, Nebula came up to me and dragged me somewhere or something and...Yeah, you don't wanna hear the rest."

Sun snorted quietly. "Wow.”

Blake looked at Yang again, trying to read her face for any hints that she might remember more than that, but came up with nothing. 

"Mhm. And she left some reminders," Yang said with a sour expression and turned her head, pointing at her neck. 

All the way down to the neckline of her shirt were dark marks that would surely take a while to fade.

Next to her, Blake heard Jaune sucking in air through his teeth. As she turned her head to him and sent him a puzzled look, he explained: "You know, Yang has a thing about hickeys. They're kind of a sign that you... _belong_ to someone and that's just not what her weird relationships are about."

"Basically, she's always the one giving hickeys because she doesn't like feeling owned by anyone," Pyrrha said and rolled her eyes. "She only got a hickey...twice?"

"Two times, yeah ," she said and absentmindedly touched her neck. "And now she thinks I’m _hers_ or something. And these are only the ones you can see...”

"So what are you going to say to her?" Blake asked curiously. 

"I think I'm gonna stop letting her talk me into it and leave . I’m tired of all of the stupid shit anyway." Yang said with a scowl. 

Sun huffed.

Yang immediately turned to look at him and offered him a smile. "What’s your deal now Sunshine?”

He glared back at her, unaffected by her quite intimidating expression. "The way you're treating the people around you is pretty disrespectful, isn't? Yang, you seem like some like someone who’ll run away from them before they can run from you. Did I get it right?”

Blake only sighed. She didn't understand their weird frenemy relationship.

Yang took a last long sip from her bottle before she dropped it to the ground."Since when is any of that your business? You don’t even know me.”

"It should be everyone's business. You act like nothing ever matters to you. You can't just do that, dude. You're leading people on.., not even attempting to stay. You r-”" 

Yang interrupted him simply by lifting a hand. Blake could see the red in her eyes.

"Listen, I'm not taking advantage of _anyone_. They come back and thats all they want from me anyway! They know what they're in for. In fact, I tell them beforehand. It's like a contract: they’re with me for a while, but there are definitely no feelings involved and I can leave whenever I please. So, no, I'm not using anyone, they choose that for themselves."

Sun opened his mouth but before she could say anything Blake put a hand on his shoulder and said: "She’s not wrong. You might not understand why people would still agree to that, I get that, but it's their own choice. Those people are just using her anyway, if you think about it.”

Yang seemed to be taken off guard for a moment, then a broad grin took over her face. "Thanks, Blakey. Anyway, we should get going. Class is starting soon." 

"You care about showing up late?"

"I know that _you_ guys do." She pointed at Weiss, Pyrrha and Blake.

Blake nodded slowly. "Yeah. We should probably go inside."

Once they entered the school building, they made their way to their Biology class, which most of them had together. 

The lesson started as usual, just Oobleck fast-talking in front while everyone else were taking notes. 

Yang was more quiet than usual, for whatever reason she might have, and she didn't have the guts to talk to her. So she was all the more surprised when she suddenly turned around to her and said: "We should make a bet.”

Blake stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"I wanna make a bet," she reiterated. "Yeah? No?”

Blake wondered why Yang and her friends were so obsessed with making bets all the time. She did tend to get money out of it sometimes, so she couldn't complain.

"What kind of bet?"

She smirked mischievously. "Okay, listen. You can decide what we're going to bet on. The winner can ask anything of the other." As she saw the look on her face, she rolled her eyes and added: "Nothing sexual of course, kitten. I wouldn't ask that of you."

Blake exhaled in relief and thought about it for a few seconds. She knew that it was a risk, but by now she was tired of always backing down, tired of always pushing her away and being scared. So Blake fought for a smile and nodded. "Alright. I bet that you... you won't be able to evacuate the school in the next two hours." 

It was something she would never manage to do, so she didn't have to worry about actually losing this bet to her. It was a safe bet.

A smile lit up her face after mere seconds of thinking. "Oh, you're making this too easy.”

Blake looked at her wide-eyed, suddenly not so sure if this had been a good idea. But of course it was Yang she was talking too; she would've gladly agreed to the most idiotic, dangerous bets and would’ve probably won them. 

"You're not going to do anything illegal, are you?" Blake whispered.

She raised a brow. ”Kitten, evacuating this entire building won't work just by asking Ozpin nicely."

Blake groaned quietly. "Oh my god. This was the dumbest idea...”

"Hey, this was your idea, not mine."

As if she had planned it, the bell rang just in that moment and Yang swiftly got up and pulled her out of her seat. "Come on, we gotta be quick."

" _We_?" She asked, her voice at least an octave higher because of the nervousness that made her hair stand on end.

Yang sighed exasperatedly and dragged her along with her, still holding onto her sleeve. "Yes, _we.”_

She looked over her shoulder one last time before reluctantly jogging through the corridors next to her. Students were pouring out of the class rooms, so everything was crowded and it was hard to hear Yang as she said, with all the nonchalance she could muster: "I’m pulling the fire alarm.”

”Yang, no. We can’t do that!”

"Yang yes, and we can. There's one in Ozzy’s office." 

Blake froze in her tracks and held onto the blonde’s shirt so that she wouldn't walk off. "Seriously? You’re going to get us in trouble for something so stupid?”

Yang stared at her calmly, as she gently pried her fingers off her shirt. "I know, but he won’t find out. I don't think he's even in his office right now, so now's our best chance."

Blake wondered how she had turned a boring school morning into this hectic, exciting chaos so quickly, before sighing resignedly. 

Yang smiled somewhat reassuringly and started walking again. Since she was still holding onto her hand, she had to keep up with her, which proved difficult with all the students blocking the way. 

Eventually, they reached a less crowded hall and at the end of it was the principal's office. Yang looked around carefully before putting a hand to the door knob and twisting it slowly. To her surprise, the door opened. The blonde gave her a nod and slipped into the room, pulling her after her. As soon as she was inside, she shut the door behind them.

Blake had never been to the principal's office before. It was a rather small room with a thick carpet that swallowed the noise of their footsteps, which she was grateful for, and dark wallpaper on the walls. In the middle of the room there was a massive desk covered with piles of documents. There was a large locker and book shelves along the walls too. Everything seemed kind of old and dusty in the light that was falling in through the large window behind the desk.

Yang didn't care for such details and headed straight for the fire alarm that was on the wall next to the locker. 

"Have you been here before?"

She glanced at her for a second before turning back to inspecting the fire alarm. "A couple times. Had some nice, long conversations about how another violation of the school rules could get me expelled, honor roll or not." She laughed quietly. 

” _Honor roll_?”

Yang just smiled.

Before she could do anything to stop her, she lifted a hand to the cover of the pull station. Then, without much hesitation, lifted it and pulled down the lever. 

For a split second, nothing happened. Then the shrill ringing of the alarm cut through the silence and blared violently into her faunas ears. The noise was quickly followed by the sound of yelling and scrambling footsteps outside in the hallway. 

A satisfied smile flickered across Yang’s face as she looked at her, but it promptly vanished as soon as the doorknob suddenly began to move. 

Yang swore quietly under her breath. Then, without missing a beat, she opened the door of the locker and disappeared inside. 

For a moment, Blake stood frozen in shock before she fortunately had the presence of mind to follow her inside and shut the door behind her just as heavy steps entered the office.

The locker was relatively big. For a locker, but definitely not for a hiding spot. And definitely not for two people. It was basically impossible not to touch Yang, on the contrary: she was leaning against her, Blake’s head resting against her shoulder, her back against Yang’s chest, and she could feel her heart beating a mile a minute through the fabric of their shirts. 

Blake was barely breathing, scared to make any kind of sound that could give them away. Through the little slits in the door, she could see the silhouette of the principal walking around the room, searching for something. 

Her heart skipped a beat as he looked in their direction and then once more, as she suddenly felt both of Yang’s hands reaching for hers. Her fingers were warm as they intertwined with her cold ones. And yet again, like she had done before the party on Friday, her thumbs laid on her wrist, as if feeling for the pulse, and lightly caressed the sensitive skin. Her heart started to beat even faster as she rested her forehead against Blake’s neck. 

It was a position she wasn't familiar with, but after a few seconds, she decided that it didn't feel too bad. It was quite nice, actually. If it hadn't been for Ozpin who was still looking around his office, of course.

Luckily, after a few more minutes, he decided he should probably get the hell out of the building too, in case it actually was burning.

She and Yang stayed like that for a moment after he was gone. Then, when they were sure he wouldn't return, Blake broke away from her and opened the door. As she stepped outside, she felt weak-kneed and had to steady herself on the door frame. 

"You keep doing that, " Blake said, still in a daze, and touched the skin were Yang’s thumb had rested seconds before.

She shot her a surprised look. "Doing what?”

"Every time you..." She swallowed nervously and willed herself to keep talking. "Every time you hold my hand, you..put your thumb on my wrist." It sounded more like a question than a statement. 

Yang looked down, seeming almost uncomfortable herself for once. "I don't know, force of habit, I guess." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Sounds really corny, but my mom used to do that when I was really little. To reassure me, I think?”

"Oh," 

It made sense: every time she had held her hand, it had been when Blake was anxious or timid. It was always a gesture that was meant to calm. And embarrassingly, it did. 

"We should probably get outta here," Yang said, pointing at the door. 

She nodded and followed her outside. No one was inside the building anymore, everyone had left minutes ago and it'd probably only be a matter of time until the fire department arrived. 

Both girls snuck out the back door, then walked around the building until they ended up on the parking lot, where everyone else was gathering. 

Blake was the first one to spot their friends, reaching them seconds later. 

Sun looked at her curiously, but it was Nora who spoke up first. "Guys... where were you?" 

Blake and the blonde shared a quick glance.

"It took us a while to find you, " Yang announced to them.

Pyrrha didn't seem convinced, but as Yang stared intently at her, she seemed to understand and didn't ask want to ask any more questions. 

"Do you know what happened?” Sun asked the feline faunas.

"No," She lied. "Do you think we can go home now?"

Jaune nodded. "The principal just confirmed that there'll be no more lessons today and that we can leave. He doesn't think there’s really a fire, but he said that talking to the fire department will surely take too long to have regular lessons afterwards. Most of the other upperclassmen already left.

Blake looked around and saw that he was correct; the parking lot was getting less crowded by the minute. "Alright. Should we get going?"

"Yeah," Yang said. 

They parted soon after that, each going their separate ways. She only noticed that Yang was following, when she unlocked her car and saw her standing behind her.

"I won the bet," she stated with a wide smile.

"I noticed." 

"So I get to make a wish."

Blake looked at her, waiting for her to spill what kind of undoubtedly stupid and humiliating thing she wanted her to do. 

She stepped even closer and braced her elbow on the roof of her car. "For you to go out with me.”

For a moment all she could do was stare, before choking out: "Excuse me? A _date_? You did all of that for a date?”

Yang shrugged with an amused grin. "Well, if you put it like that..." Then she added, more seriously: "Of course it’s not _really_ a date. It could also just be seen as partying together."

She thought about it for a minute. "I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"Well, you _did_ lose, so..."

"Fine." She took a deep breath. "I'll do it. But I have to talk to Sun first."

Yang’s eyes widened with genuine astonishment. "Are you going to...”

"Yes," Blake quietly answered. "Everything I'm doing at the moment will just hurt him. I can't keep doing this, it's not fair. He has the right to know the truth. Otherwise every step I take will be like cheating on him. Which I already feel like I'm doing..”

Yang nodded thoughtfully. "I get it. Sun doesn't deserve any of this." She fell silent saying, with a seriousness that left her stunned: "I'm sorry if this is my fault, Blake. I never meant to do that to your relationship."

Blake shook her head. Suddenly, she had the overwhelming urge to reassure her. ”Hey, it's not your fault, none of this is. It's _mine_. It's because I didn't realize earlier that a relationship with him wouldn't lead to anything...and _apparently_ because I don't know the difference between platonic and romantic. I just did what I thought I had to do.”

At first, it looked like Yang was going to reach out, but then she seemed to change her mind and slipped her hand into her pocket instead. "You’ll learn the difference. Just focus on what _you_ want, Blake.”

She swallowed and nodded wordlessly.

"Okay. When are you free to go to that club?" The blonde asked.

"Um...Wednesday night maybe?"

"Cool, " Yang said with a small smile, that unveiled her delight. "Get home safe."

"You too," She said before climbing into her car.

Only when Blake was already driving home she noticed that she’d forgotten to ask if she remembered that Friday night or if her sister said anything.

Just one more thing to worry about.


	18. Chapter 18

"Alright, what is up with you?" Weiss asked, looking at the faunas with warily narrowed eyes.

Blake cleared her throat and looked back at her over her cup of tea. "Hm?"

When they arrived at school this morning, they were supposed to have Spanish, but the teacher was sick and the substitute hadn't shown up, so she and Weiss decided to go into town until third period started. 

Now they were sitting at the café; Blake was drinking tea while Weiss had her carefully-made coffee.

"You're brooding more than usual. You haven’t talked since we arrived," she said, sipping her coffee. ”So, what is it?”

Blake shrugged and rested her chin in her hand. "You probably won't like it.”

The only reaction she received was an unimpressed eye roll and a flick of her fingers sanctioning her to go on. 

Taking a deep breath, she tried to have some semblance of calm before speaking: "I think Sun and I should break up. He should be allowed to see someone else who’ll actually give him the hundred percent he deserves. Not me. Not someone who can’t even get her mind straight and hurt him in the process.”

She cursed herself for using the word ”straight”. Even her brain was betraying her with unauthorized Yang-puns.

Weiss nearly choked on her drink as Blake took a breath. When she was done coughing, she just stared for so long that the faunas started to shift uncomfortably in her seat. "You’re absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

Weiss was quiet for a few more minutes. Then she started nodding slowly. "Okay."

"Okay?" She asked, unsure what that reaction meant.

"Okay. I understand. I mean, it's not like I couldn't see that you were clashing with yourself," she said, toying around with the lid of her coffee. "And I think it..might be the best decision for this circumstance. You’re both my friends and, Blake, I can’t stand to see you hurting just because you're too stubborn to admit to yourselves that this thing between you two isn't what you thought it was, even though you both already knew. As long as this is _your_ choice this time, not something you feel the need to do for someone else."

Blake nodded, partly relieved, partly surprised that she was as understanding as she was. "I know..but I'm not sure if _he’ll_ think it’s the best decision.”

"He will," Weiss said matter-of-factly. "Believe me. As much as I call him a dunce, he’s not stupid. He’s more insightful than I give him credit for." She fell silent for a moment. "I only have one question: what brought all of this on?

She stalled by sipping her tea. Then she spoke softly, avoiding her eyes all the while: "Yang asked me on a date. I think?”

If Weiss had looked shocked before, she looked a thousand times more bewildered now. "I beg your pardon?”

"Well, it's not exactly a date, " She was quick to say. "She said I could also just see it as hanging out. I mean, it's not a big deal, right? Going to a club together doesn't really mean a _date_ date, does it?"

Weiss closed her eyes. When she opened them and pointed a finger at her, her entire expression indicated that she was absolutely done with her. "Blake. We're talking about Yang Xiao Long. You think that blonde buffoon is just doing this for the hell of it?” Blake’s eyes widened as she leaned closer across the table. "Do you even know what this means? Girls like her don't do things as ’trivial’ as a date.”

Blake twiddled her fingers nervously. "Okay, now you're just scaring me."

"What I'm trying to say is, It’s just peculiar, okay? She wouldn't try so hard if _you_ were trivial. So maybe you should decide if you want to do that as well.”

"I’ve already made that decision," She said. "Which is also one of the reasons why I'm breaking up with Sun. That wouldn't be fair."

The blue-eyed girl studied her face for a moment before she leaned back in her chair, arms folded over her chest. "Do you like her?”

”I don't know, to be honest. I don't even know what that _means_ anymore. I thought I knew when I first started dating Sun, but I didn't. With Yang everything seems... _more_ and she makes me feel things I don't understand. Except, it’s not weird in a bad way this time. If that makes sense?”

Weiss stared at her again with a look that could almost be described as pitying. "I’m not going to judge you for being attracted to idiots, but you’re most definitely smitten.”

"Who’s smitten?" Both girls jumped at the sound of an Australian accent as Velvet suddenly appeared at their table.

"Oh my god, Velvet!" Blake exclaimed. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"I work here," she said drily, gesturing towards her apron. 

Blake _did_ tend to forget sometimes. It was sad how many times she’d skip class in order to work to support her family.

"So, who has a crush? Is it you, Blake?" Her eyes lit up with sincere softness at the blush. "Aw, that’s cute. Do I know them?"

"Yeah." Blake said quietly, biting her bottom lip. Even though she wasn't completely sure if she liked Yang, she didn't mind telling Velvet this. She trusted her. As she got to know them, the eldest people in the group began to feel like the older siblings she never had.

”Blonde? Sits with your girlfriend at lunch sometimes?” Weiss supplied.

”Jaune?”

”No.”

“Well, there’s only so many underclassmen that she sits with..and the only other blonde is-”

”Yep.”

Velvet turned to Blake, who had been quiet during the whole exchange, with a half-smile. ”You let her seduce you?”

Now it was Blake’s turn to choke on her drink, so Weiss answered for her.

”Kind of.”

”Weiss!”

”Well she did Blake!”

Velvet giggled at the younger girls. "Coco knows her better than I do, but I can’t necessarily blame you." She reassured. "She comes here every once in a while too, you know? I’ve watched her work. So...you’ve had an awakening?" She didn't sound too surprised.

”A what?”

The rabbit faunas laughed good-naturedly again. ”You’ve found out you’re into girls?”

Blake intently stared into her cup, too embarrassed to look up at her. "I don't really know..”

"But wait, aren’t you with Sun?"

"That, um, isn't quite working out anymore. Hasn't been for a while.”

Velvet had a thoughtful look on her face. "Alright, so... is it serious between you two now?”

"No," Blake quickly answered as Weiss simultaneously twirled her hand and added: "Basically.”

"No, it really isn't." The feline faunas objected. "Yang isn't the type to jump into a relationship."

"She’s _also_ not the type to ask someone on a date and make an actual effort the entire time she’s known you," Weiss pointed out. "She is going out of her way just to go on one simple date with you. I mean, don’t people usually go to _her_? It’s backwards, have you ever seen Yang act like that with anyone else? Because I haven't before she got interested in _you_.”

Blake frowned and took another sip of her tea. "Okay, so maybe she's treating me differently. But how do I know this isn't just because she wants what she can't have and as _soon_ as I give in, she's not interested anymore?"

"You don't," Velvet countered softly. "It’s never that easy. It wasn't when Coco and I started dating. It's _supposed_ to be a risk, but it was better than always wondering what could’ve happened so I just _jumped_ in.”

_”Sometimes it’s a good thing to stop questioning things and to just jump in and let yourself fall.”_ Suddenly Yang’s weirdly cryptic words at the lake made sense.

”And I highly doubt all she wants to do is to sleep with you just to see if she could.” Weiss added.

Velvet nodded. ”Coco treats Yang like a little sister for a reason. They’re alike in some ways. So, honestly? She isn't like that. She’s never sought out someone for something so shallow. The boys or girls seeking _her_ out is a different story.”

Blake nodded slowly. "Thank you...for the advice.”

"Anytime," she answered, taking her now-empty cup. "Come on, I'll make you another cup before you go." She stopped her with a wave of her hand as Blake reached for her payment. "No, that's alright, it's on the house.”

Blake frowned. "I don’t mind.”

Velvet just smiled and walked towards the counter, motioning for them to follow.

After she had another cup of tea, she and Weiss got ready to get back to the school. Blake smiled at her white-haired friend through the window as she exited the café.

Weiss dusted herself off as she opened the door, raising a brow at the face Blake was making.

”I saw you put that giant tip on the table.” The faunas smirked fondly.

”Shut up.”

Class went as it always did, the only difference being that Blake was nervous and on edge all throughout the day. In between periods, she had sent Sun a text telling him to meet her at her car after school. He had replied within seconds.

So naturally, she was especially anxious in her last period, which was Biology with Oobleck. Which meant she was sitting next to Yang, with the blonde being the most concerned with all the fidgeting.

"Jeez, what’s up with you?" She asked, placing a hand on the faunas’ knee to keep her foot from repeatedly tapping on the ground. 

Blake immediately stilled and looked down at her hands, which were doodling in the margins of her notebook. "Sorry."

From the corner of her eye she could see Yang frowning slightly before lifting her hand from her knee and muttering: "What’s wrong?"

"Just stressed."

"Boyfriend problems?"

"Yes. I don't know how I can talk to him without hurting him."

"I don't know," she said carefully. "But maybe you can make him understand."

Blake thought about it for a moment before nodding. After clearing her throat, she said: "Can you just talk to me about something else? I don't want to think about it right now."

Yang’s face lit up with a content little smile. "Sure, how about plans for tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at eight. Wear something sexy."

She stared at her, not quite sure if she was being serious or not. "...like _what_?”

"You'll find something. Honestly, anything that shows off that body you keep hiding."

"Right..." Blake muttered, trying to keep stoic and hold back her laughter.

Before she could reply, the bell rung and people started to rise. Yang quickly gathered her things and got to her feet. She’d expected her to just walk off like she usually did, but instead she stepped closer and leaned in to whisper: "See you then."

The blonde was gone before she could even react, leaving her standing there with the skin on her neck tingling where her breath had brushed it.

As she looked around to see that nearly everyone had left the classroom already, she swung her bag over her shoulder and headed out of the building and into the parking lot. 

Her heart leapt into her throat upon seeing Sun already standing by her car and waving as he saw her approach. "Hey!" He saluted and wrapped his built arms around her, lifting her up.

Blake hugged him back a little tighter, feeling guiltier by the second. "Hey."

He took a step back and searched her amber eyes. "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. "Yeah. Yes, I'm fine. So,..should we get going?" 

His face gave away that he wasn't convinced in the slightest, but eventually he just shrugged and opened the car door for her before hopping into the passenger’s side. She started the engine as he got settled and put on his seatbelt.

The palms of her hands were shaking slightly when she put them on the steering wheel and willed Sun not to notice it as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"So, where we goin’?" Sun asked, breaking the awkward silence.

She planned to drive somewhere more secluded, so that they were in private. So she ended up picking the very first place that came to mind; the place where she went to be by herself sometimes to calm her nerves. It was a great place to read and to draw. It also happened to be near the place where they first met; the port. He had been a kid running away from a storeowner because he stole a banana, then got the bright idea to stowaway at the port of Vale. "To Vale Gardens?” 

_The Gardens_ was an observation platform and park not too far off, where you had a nice view over the landscape and the city without the port blocking the way. Not many people went there, so they wouldn't be disturbed either.

Sun nodded contently and leaned back in his seat, propping his sneakers on the dashboard as he always did. Blake swallowed against the lump in her throat as she watched him. 

He had always been her best friend along with Weiss when she was here, and she knew him like the back of her hand. Hell, they basically grew up together. Looking at him now, she could still remember how he had looked with a mohawk and more tooth gaps than years of age. 

Sun had never done anything wrong to deserve this, she knew; _she_ was the one who had made the mistake of getting herself into a relationship with him while not being fully sure if she liked him that way. It was the safe choice, it was what everyone had expected of her. She was practically betrothed to him, it felt like an arranged marriage. She had only made it worse by not admitting that to herself and ignoring it for his sake.

The car ride went by in silence, which was a bit unusual since he loved to talk. He knew how to be silent sometimes though, considering Blake wasn't that talkative. When that happened, it was usually a companionable silence, they would just dwell on thoughts next to each other on his bed or in the car. 

This time, however, the air between them seemed tense, so she was relieved when they arrived at their destination a few minutes later. They both got out of the car and Sun grabbed the blanket that was always in the trunk. Then they both sat down on it, close to the edge of the platform. 

Beneath them was their hometown, illuminated in the golden light of the setting sun. The warm glow dipped Sun’s hair in light and made his ocean-blue eyes seem lighter than usual.

"So," he said and turned his head to face her, "I get the feeling something’s wrong?"

For a second she was so, _so_ close to aborting and pretending there was nothing important to say. But when she looked at him, she saw that he knew she needed to get something off her chest. 

There was something about the look on his face and the way he was sitting, shoulders straight and hands folded in his lap as his tail swayed, that reminded her of a pugilist preparing to take a hit.

It took substantial effort for her to look him in the eye when she opened her mouth and quietly spoke: "Can you promise to listen to everything I have to say and let me finish?”

He nodded.

Blake took a deep, quivering breath, but her next words came out surprisingly composed. "I wasn't honest with you." She hesitated, waiting for Sun to interrupt and say something, and exhaled when he didn't. "I wasn't honest with you when we kissed, or... when we had sex. I... I wasn't honest when I said I was in love with you, either. I _do_ love you, but just not in _that_ way and I am so, _so_ sorry, Sun.”

Sun’s nodded slowly. She could see him swallowing, waiting for her to continue. 

"But I _want_ be honest now, before I make anything worse," Blake said softly. "I really am so sorry. I thought... You know, I thought I knew what this was and I thought I felt it with you. But I was wrong. I mistook the deep affection I have for you as a friend for love and I'm _so_ stupid for not realizing it sooner."

"Okay, and what are you trying to say here?”

"I'm trying to say... that I don’t think it’s fair to either of us to be together anymore.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew that she couldn't take them back. She couldn't run from the inevitable anymore.

"And I know that the whole ’ _It's not you, it's me’_ thing is cliché and overdone," She continued and fought against the lump in her throat. "But I want you to know this is all my fault. This is all because...I think I like..” She coughed into her hand, averting her eyes. "...I think I'm gay."

It was the first time she said this out loud, the first time she actually formed it into words. The first time she actively chose not to ignore it. Nothing about it felt relieving or liberating at the moment. It felt like jumping out of a plane and realizing she didn't have a parachute. It was new, and it was change. She was just _scared_.

Her heart was beating as if she had just ran a marathon while she waited for him to react.

"So I was right," Sun affirmed with a sad smile.

Blake shrugged helplessly and wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner, but I just didn't... I didn't know how. "

"Is this because of Yang?" He didn't even look angry. He just had a far-off look in his eyes.

"Kind of," She admitted. "She made me... realize some things. She also made things a hundred times more difficult and confusing and kind of... showed me something I didn't even think about before, and now I can't think about anything else." 

Blake fell silent for a moment, glancing at the sunset. It was absurd how beautiful it and the scenery was, the same as it had always been, while she felt as though everything around her was different.

"I wish I could love you the way I thought I did, I really do, " She admitted with her voice breaking. "But I can't. I _tried_. Sun, you're one of my best friends. I don't want to lose you like I lost myself.”

Sun shook his head, reaching over to swipe another tear from under her eye. "I know, Blake. I love you too, you know that. It’s _okay_ , I promise it is. I don’t want you to be anything you’re not. It’s who you are and..and I’ll accept that. Yeah, it sucks but we were friends before all of this and that’s not gonna change.”

Blake closed her eyes, attempting to stop more tears from falling before promptly failing and wrapping her arms around him.

His acceptance of her admission and the overall maturity of how he handled it all in general moved her. She was so relieved to know he wouldn't treat her any differently.

He gladly returned the embrace, holding out a fist for her to bump when they broke apart. She obliged.

”I guess my soul isn't gold, huh?”

She laughed despite herself at his callback to the book he used to describe Yang.

”I love you, idiot.”

”Love you too, dumbass.” He replied. “Always.”

Without saying anything else, he got up and walked over to her car. She got to her feet, too, taking the blanket with her and unlocking the doors. 

The ride back was again a silent affair; neither of them talked, so the only sound was the rattling of the engine. Blake sniffled and he put a hand on her knee.

”Stop. It’s fine, I told you.”

”Then why doesn't it feel like it?” She desperately inquired.

”Hey, that just shows you care and I’ll take that over you not giving a fuck.”

He got her to laugh again and she was once more thankful for someone like him. 

After a while, she dropped him off.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully after he got out of the car, leaning back inside.

”Are _you?_ I’m the one that did this, after all.” 

Sun waved her off. "Like I said, it sucks but I’ll be fine. I’m just gonna take some time to think about things. You should too.”

”Okay..” Blake murmured.

”Bye, Blake.”

”Goodbye.”


	19. Chapter 19

Blake didn't go to school on Tuesday, simply because it would've been to no avail. It was one of her bad days. On days like this, she could barely get out of bed. What had happened recently did not help at all. Most of her thoughts were either about Sun and the break up or about Yang and their upcoming date, so she was basically was a wreck anyway.

Certainly she wouldn't have been able to concentrate at school, and the thought of seeing Sun there would make her feel worse. He wanted space, that was fair. But as soon as she would've seen him in the hallways, she probably would've still talked to him and asked how he was doing. He was still her best friend.

So she stayed at home, trying to distract herself by reading. Soon she found herself bored, scrolling through her phone and quickly caught herself drawing what started to look a lot like Yang, using the picture as a reference. Since the sketch was actually pretty good, she continued working on it until she ended up with a detailed portrait of her looking over her shoulder, a bright smile on her lips and brows raised, an expression that she often wore.

Blake had looked at it for a few minutes before eventually stashing it underneath some papers on her desk. 

Afterwards, she had gone back to thinking about the date with the blonde and panicked slightly; she had talked about going to some sort of club, which was something she had never done before. Embarrassingly, one of her biggest worries was what she was going to wear.

Her advice to wear something "sexy" had only contributed to her insecurity. So she’d spent at least half an hour in front of her closet, trying to pick an outfit that wouldn't make her look completely ridiculous.

She had just finished doing her hair and makeup, when the door bell rang. 

She cursed quietly under her breath as she nearly tripped down the stairs in an attempt to get to the door before either of her parents could. Before she opened it, she grabbed her purse and keys and shouted a quick goodbye. Since she couldn't exactly tell her parents what she’d be doing tonight, nor was she brave enough to, she settled for telling them she’d be hanging out with Weiss.

Being the clumsy nervous wreck she was, she opened the front door with way too much force in her eagerness to leave, and stumbled face forward into the devil herself. 

Yang caught her shoulders and grinned with an amused glint in her eyes. 

”Don’t. I swear to god.”

Yang only smiled wider. ” _Falling_ for me already, huh?” She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Blake rolled her eyes at her but didn't try to shake her hands off. "You’re so corny.”

She just shrugged casually and let go of her. "You love it." She then took a step back and gazed at her outfit with a hungry stare that _absolutely_ made her blush. "So you took the ’sexy’ advice to heart I see." When she didn't respond right away she stepped closer again and intently examined her shirt.

Blake looked down at herself, a little self-conscious. In lack of anything better to wear in short notice, she had only went with a casual look; acid-wash ripped skinny jeans and a black see-through cropped blouse. "Yang?”

The blonde only hummed absentmindedly, before catching herself and ripping her eyes away. 

Now, staring deeply into golden orbs, Yang’s lips formed into what almost looked like a pout, then shrugged. "Okay. So, why weren't you at school today?"

For a second Blake was surprised she noticed, then said: "I didn't feel well."

"You weren't sick," Yang said, rolling her eyes. "If you were, Ice Queen would’ve told me. Which she didn't. I asked. So, what is it? Bad day?”

She was silent for a moment, taken aback by her accusation and how precise it was. Eventually, she nodded.

"So you told him?"

"Yes."

"How’d it go?"

Blake twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "He’s not mad, but he’s not necessarily jumping for joy either.”

"He’ll be fine, " She reassured. "He’s a hot guy, he’ll find someone he deserves.”

Blake only nodded.

Yang regarded her silently for a few more seconds before she held her hand out and led her towards her dad’s car. 

She allowed it, holding onto the warm hand.

When Blake climbed into the passenger seat, she asked: "Where are we going, anyway?"

Yang waited until they both sat down and fastened their seat belts before she started the engine. Only when they had already left the neighborhood, did she answer. "We're going to a gay club!”

"Funny. Now, where are we _actually_ going?"

"I'm serious.” 

Blake could feel her amused expression crumble. "Yang, I'm not going there."

"Blake-"

"No, _I'm_ serious, I’m not doing that. I’m not even sure if I like..." She trailed off.

The blonde was silent for a moment before she quietly said: "You know, I _do_ remember what happened Friday.”

Now she was actually taken aback for a second. "What?" She said feebly.

Yang turned her head to look at her. There was no teasing or hesitation in her voice as she talked. "I said I remember what happened. At first I didn't, then my sister mentioned something about running into my ’cat burglar girlfriend’ in the kitchen. And I know how much it meant to you, what a big step it was." As she spoke, one of her hands reached out for hers, but then she seemed to think better of it and dropped it onto the armrest in between their seats. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's kinda one of the signs that you're _not_ the straightest straight to ever straight."

Blake didn't say anything in reply, still too shocked by her words.

"Listen, okay?" She continued and looked at her with a more serious expression. "I'm not trying to force you to do anything. We'll just go in there and if you don't like it, we can leave and go somewhere else." She lifted a hand to interrupt when the faunas opened her mouth to object. "But I actually really think you'll like it there, it's fun. It's a good place to be when you're exploring your sexuality. No matter what you identify as, in that club, they'll respect you. Before you can accept yourself, it's good to know that others do. So that's why going to a gay bar, as scary as it might sound to you, is actually a pretty good lesson. Because, frankly, you’re repressed as _hell_. No offense.”

Blake took a deep breath and slumped back into her seat. Then, not looking at her, she finally spoke: "Ten. We can stay there for _ten_ minutes. If I want to leave then, we leave.”

Yang nodded eagerly and she could tell that she was trying to bite back a grin. "Yes m’am."

Glaring at her, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You really suck, you know that?"

"Just tell me when and where," she said, winking, and watched amusedly as Blake felt her cheeks warm. "I'm just fucking with you." Yang burst into laughter while she made a choking sound. "Oops, wrong choice of words."

"You really _do_ want to make me to jump out of a moving vehicle, don't you?"

"Please don't," Yang said, still trying to stop herself from laughing. "It'd be a pity to cheat yourself out of our bet that easily."

"Ugh," Blake groaned, but it lacked any heat and looked out of the window. "Are we there yet?"

To her surprise, Yang swiftly pulled over and parked on the side of the road. "Yep!” She answered, popping the ’P’.

Without further explanation she got out of the car and walked around it to open Blake’s door as well. 

She hesitantly got out and eyed the club. They were in a street close to the city center and even though it was a Wednesday, there were a few people waiting in line in front of the doors. The club's name was hung above the entrance in LED letters, but other than that, it looked like a normal building.

"You coming?" Yang asked.

Blake reluctantly followed as she walked up to the end of the line. It moved rather fast and they stepped through the entrance sooner than she would have liked.

Behind it was a short corridor that opened into a huge loft-like hall. Once they reached it, she could finally see all that what was going on inside. The first thing that caught her eye was the bar that was on the left side, a black counter with long rows of glass bottles on the shelves behind it and some people standing around it. The rest of the room was occupied by a huge dance floor. Loud music was vibrating through the entire club, a dark, nearly hypnotizing song. Something about it sounded forbidden, and oddly sexual.

Lights were flashing over the crowd, illuminating couples that were either kissing or dancing close to one another.

Everything was exactly like Blake had imagined normal clubs, with the difference that everywhere she looked were fun, colorful groups of guys and girls, same-sex couples as the majority, and an overall energetic and happy community. Although, Blake couldn't deny that the way they were comfortable in their own skin was beautiful.

Her eyes were probably the size of saucers as she took everything in. Almost unconsciously, her hand reached for Yang’s, slipping into it. 

From the corner of her eyes she could see Yang biting her lip to hide her smile as she tightened her grip on her hand. The light caressing of her thumb on Blake’s wrist didn't even startle her anymore, but had yet to lose any of its comforting effect.

Yang bent down towards her ear. "A bit overwhelming at first, huh?" 

Blake nodded, still rendered speechless.

"Come on, let's go over there," she said and pulled her into a less crowded area of the club where, to her surprise, a few couches lined the brick walls. 

The music was less deafening over there, so they could actually talk in a normal voice and Blake’s ears weren't screaming at her.

Yang dragged her over to one of the couches, which had a bunch of cushions on them, and pulled her down to sit beside her. "Want anything to drink?”

She looked at her with wide eyes. "They actually serve you alcohol?”

Yang shrugged casually. "I'm friends with a bunch of workers here, otherwise they wouldn't even let us in. Plus, I’m pretty sure the owner is terrified of me. So yeah, I could get us something alcoholic, but I'm not going to. I also want you to be able to actually _remember_ tonight."

"Okay," Blake said, still nervous. "Uhm, can I get a soda then?”

"Yeah, sure," The blonde laughed and let go of her hand. "Is it okay if I leave you here for a sec?"

She nodded and watched as Yang made her way towards the bar counter. She turned back to look at what was going on on the dance floor in front of her. There was a group of people dancing, all with color full hair going from pinks to reds.

When the crowd on the dance floor began to dim out, Yang approached her again. She pulled her closer and put a finger under her chin to make the faunas look at her. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, It’s just.. a lot," She said. "I mean, not that it’s bad. Just new.”

Yang laughed quietly. "I get it. Well, it _has_ been ten minutes anyway... So you wanna leave?"

Everything about her face screamed _Please say no_ , but the fact that she asked nevertheless was so incredibly sweet that there really was no way she could have said anything other than, "No...I'd like to stay, if that's okay with you."

"If that's okay with me?" Yang asked incredulously. "Of course that's okay with me. Uh...wanna dance?"

Blake had to think about it for a few seconds. She didn't really like dancing, nor was she very good at it, but she could tell that Yang really wanted to. "Yeah, sure.”

The blonde’s face lit up with a genuinely surprised smile, then she pulled her towards the dance floor, leaving their drinks on the table. 

The song that was playing now was similar to the style of music she had heard when they had first entered, but this one had vocals that were sung by a smooth, soft male voice. The beat was dreamy, but with an underlying sensual darkness to it.

Yang quickly noticed that she was just standing around awkwardly. Blake gasped when she hooked her two index fingers into her belt loops, pulling her closer until there were only a few inches between them.

Blake looked around, with the weird feeling that someone was looking at them. This was probably the closest they had ever gotten in public and the thought of someone seeing her in this position made her hair stand on end. If, for whatever reason, someone knew she was here, they'd surely assume there was something between the two of them.

"Relax," Yang muttered into her ear, lips lightly grazing skin. "No one's even looking.”

She nodded and smiled at her, even though her heart was pounding. 

Yang then started to move slowly to the beat and after some hesitation she followed her example and mirrored the blonde’s movements.

Blake didn't really know what to do, but when she looked around, she saw that pretty much everyone was really just dancing in their own way, seemingly lost in the music and their own little world, so she started to move to the beat on her own accord. 

The whole time, she stayed close to Yang, until they ended up pressed against each other in one corner of the dance floor. Yang’s cheeks were flushed and there was a wide grin on her face as she leaned down and tentatively brushed Blake’s cheek with her lips, letting it linger.

Her breath caught in her throat for a second. "What was that?"

Yang smiled cheekily. "I'm just returning the favor."

Blake rolled her eyes at her, but couldn't stop a sheepish grin from creeping onto her face. 

Yang stared at her for a moment that felt like hours, then she took both of her hands and leaned in again. This time she placed a kiss closer to the corner of her mouth. "I don't think I've ever kissed someone on the cheek before on a date," she then said thoughtfully. "It's usually a bit more than that."

Her head felt like it was filled with cotton at this point, but Yang‘s words still managed to draw a quiet "And?” from her.

"Hm. I like the thought of kissing someone, without them expecting it to lead to something more. Doesn't really have to be a precursor with you, you know?" Yang laughed. 

Blake bit her lip, feeling her sharper-than-average canine break skin, and looked away for a second. Yang only reached out and softly turned her face back. Then Yang kissed her cheek once more, almost grazing her lips this time. 

It was oddly teasing considering what she’d just said. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde and leaned back, just a bit so she could look her in the eye. "Yang, what are you trying to do?"

Yang didn't even sound remotely shy when she said: "I don’t- I want to take things slow.” She smirked. “But it gets hard when you bite your lip like that.”

"Oh really?" Blake asked dryly, surprised that she even noticed something like that. 

"Really. Pretty much anything you do, honestly.”

"You don't even know me that well," She pointed out.

Yang grinned and gripped her hands even tighter. "Give me more of your time then.”

Blake raised a brow and tried hard to hide the fact that her heart had just skipped a beat at her words. "You think?"

"I know for a fact," she said before she pulled her back onto the dance floor.

+++

An hour or two later, they were back in the car and sitting outside of her house. It was after one a.m. by now, but she didn't feel tired at all.

"Are you coming back to school tomorrow?" Yang asked.

"I don't know..." Blake sighed, absentmindedly playing with Yang’s fingers in her hand. 

"Come on, please?"

"Wow, miss me already?”

"Someone’s full of herself.”

"You’re one to talk," she laughed.

Yang’s only reaction to that comment was a slight quirk of her lips. "So, was tonight as bad as you expected?"

Blake shook her head. "It was...nice, actually.”

The blonde’s face visibly lit up at that. "See, I told you you'd like it!”

Blake shrugged and unbuckled her seat belt. "Seems like you're finally right about something, huh?”

She rolled her eyes and pointed at the door. "Go to sleep.”

“See you tomorrow.”


	20. Chapter 20

As soon as Blake arrived at school the next day, she noticed that something was off. 

She felt nervous, anxious, like everyone was staring at her as she crossed the parking lot. And, unlike all the other times she had been paranoid about this, she realized after glancing over her shoulder, that she wasn't just imagining things. There were actually quite a few eyes following her. 

She crossed the parking lot as quickly as possible, not just because of the stares at her back but also because it was raining pretty heavily. 

Against her idealistic hopes, the attention on her didn't get any less intense once she was inside the building. On the contrary: as soon as she entered through the big doors, some girls in the foyer were glaring at her. 

Blake tried not to let her confusion show and looked the other way, only to see Nebula coming towards her with a controlled expression across her face. 

She expected her to just walk past, but instead she tightly grabbed her arm, long nails digging into her skin, and smiled: "I’m surprised you even showed up here today."

"Um, what?" Blake asked, gradually getting more annoyed, and pried her fingers off of her.

The scowl on her face slowly turned into a gloating smirk. "So you don't know yet..." She all but giggled and turned around to walk off. "You have a nice day.”

"Nebula, what are you even talking about?” She shouted, but the girl had already disappeared into another corridor.

With an irritated groan, Blake turned around and headed towards her locker. She didn't know if she was imagining things or if people were actually whispering and laughing as soon as they saw her, but by the time she arrived at her locker, she was close to having a panic attack. She’d never been one to handle loads of attention well, so this was pretty much her worst nightmare come true. 

She huffed and opened her locker, searching for the books she’d be needing for next period. She had no idea what this was all about, if there was something on her face or what have you, but whatever it was, it was attracting everyone's attention and it was highly irritating.

When Weiss suddenly appeared next to her, she nearly sighed in relief. "Thank God. Weiss, am I going crazy or is everyone looking at me?”

Weiss shook her head with an weirdly serious look on her face. "No, you're not. Are.. you sure you want to be here today?"

Blake slammed the door of her locker shut. "What are you talking about?"

She bit her lip, looking uncomfortable. "It's pretty..stupid actually, but everyone here is making a big deal out of it.”

"Come on, just tell me. It can't be that bad."

Weiss grimaced and leaned against the locker. "Actually, it might be. For you.” She took a breath. "Some video got sent to a lot of people.”

"What kind of video?" Blake asked, wondering what that had to do with her.

"A video of you and Yang. At a club.”

For a few seconds, she didn't even understand the meaning of that sentence. Then, everything around her seemed to spin, she had to steady herself on the wall behind her so she wouldn't freak out on the spot.

"No," she said, nearly choking on the words, "No, no, no. It’s-It’s not supposed-”

"Blake, calm down, it's alright," Weiss murmured and took a hold of her shoulder. "We’ve talked about this. Breathe. You’re fine.”

"Who knows?" She asked after a moment of trying to regulate her breathing. "Who saw?”

"Everyone." The snow-haired girl reluctantly said.

Blake swore quietly under her breath, gripping the bridge of her nose. ”Show me.”

"Are you sure? It’ll probably just irritate you more."

"Yes. Just show it to me, okay? They didn't send it to me."

Weiss hesitated before she finally handed her her phone over and played the video. 

She gulped when she saw that it was almost four minutes long. At first you couldn't see much, then there was a quick overview of the dance floor, zooming in on a few same-sex couples to make sure it was clear what kind of club it was. 

After about a minute, the camera focused on the corner where the couches were. You could vaguely make out her and Yang, even though the lighting was bad and the camera work was shaky. They were talking, while she was still holding onto Yang’s hand. 

Then, when Yang went off to get drinks, it cut off and jumped straight to the scene where she was dragging her onto the dance floor. The sensual music with the blonde’s equally sensual dancing.

On the inside she hoped that the stupid video would just end there (whoever filmed it surely must've gotten bored of watching them at some point... right?), but no luck. Seconds later, you could see them dancing, slowly moving away from the crowd until they ended up in a corner.

From there on, she had to fight the urge to throw Weiss’ phone to the ground. Everything was getting gradually worse and what might've looked normal and casual to some in the beginning now got more obvious. 

The cameraperson mercilessly continued to film them as Yang leaned in to kiss her while holding onto her hand. Even from afar you could see Blake blushing and biting her lip..but not moving away. 

Then, the video finally stopped and the screen turned black. Blake stared at it for a moment, unable to process what had just happened. She felt exposed. Eventually, she felt the phone leaving her hands and looked up to see Weiss slipping it back into her pocket with a pained expression.

"I don't- Who filmed this?" Blake asked, voice not more than a whisper.

Weiss shook her head slightly. "I was hoping you'd know. Did you recognize anyone in there? Anyone from the school?"

"No. If I had I wouldn't have stayed..” She rubbed a hand over her face, trying to collect herself. "What does everyone think?"

"They think you're...well, are..you know. You..haven’t, right?" She asked carefully. "I mean, have you two...?"

Blake’s amber eyes widened. "What? No. We just went to that club, she kissed me, then drove me home. That’s all.”

Weiss nodded. "Alright. What are you going to do about the video?"

"There's not much I can do, is there?" She asked, sounding more bitter than she had intended. "It's all out in the open." Again she felt like she couldn't breathe. She slowly counted to ten and tried to calm herself down, but that was a hard thing to do while still feeling like screaming and punching someone in the throat. "They all know."

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was, it got drowned out by the ringing of the school bell. She sighed. "I have Chemistry... will you be fine on your own?"

Even though she felt like begging her to stay, she nodded and motioned for her to go to her class. 

She sent her one last sympathetic smile before she walked off.

Blake watched as she disappeared down the corridor, then took a deep, steadying breath and headed towards her own class. All along the way, she noticed people staring and mumbling things as she walked past them. The same happened in her Italian class; she felt like everyone's eyes were on her, so she spent the two hours staring down at her desk and not daring to put her hand up even though she knew all the answers. She was part Italian after all. 

At least that had given her the time to think. She had made a plan for today and the following weeks: she would just avoid Yang in public, to not listen to what people were saying behind her back, and to not talk to anyone else about the video. There was no reason to give them any more fuel. Her publicly going anywhere near the blonde would probably only convince more people that they slept together.

Obviously, she had absolutely no such luck with any of these things; only two hours later she saw Yang coming towards her in the hallway. As soon as she spotted her, she turned around and pushed through the crowd to get away before she could spot her.

+++

The next few days at school weren't much different. Wherever she went, gossip and glares seemed to follow. Some people actually had the nerve to come up to Blake and announce their opinion on the video, her and Yang, and her sexuality straight to her face, as if any of those things were any of their business. 

Yang had tried to call multiple times, but she hadn't picked up or replied to any of her messages. She didn't know what to say, so she thought it best to just not say anything at all.

She still hadn't figured out who had filmed the video, so there was nothing she could do. It was too late now, anyway. She was convinced there was no one at school who hadn't at least heard of it. 

She had assumed all the talk about it would die down quickly since it couldn't have been the first time Yang had been seen with someone in public and kisses were probably by far not the most scandalous thing this school has seen, but somehow it still seemed to be interesting enough.

Now there were different parties who all had their own opinion on the matter. Most people were just curious if there was actually something going on between the two of them. Some seemed to be incredibly jealous, others were just surprised. A few people apparently felt the need to tell her that whatever she was into was great and that they were proud of her (keep in mind that these were people who had never once talked to her before), while a few others decided to yell explicitly sexual phrases. 

Needless to say that she kept any interactions with people other than Weiss as minimal as possible. 

It was Tuesday, exactly one week after the night at the club, when Weiss finally got Blake to have lunch in the cafeteria with her, instead of sticking to hanging out in her car.

At first, things were going quite well: she was sitting at one table in the corner with Weiss and Pyrrha (both of them were begging her to talk to Yang, which she refused)

That was until a boy, that absolutely nobody liked, suddenly came up to their table, three of his football teammates following him. The look on his face was sardonic as he braced his arms on the table and watched as they fell silent. "Hey, Blake," he then said lowly and turned his head to look her in the face. "How does it feel to be interesting all of a sudden?"

Blake narrowed her eyes at him. "Fuck off, Adam.”

The grin on his face didn't falter at all as he said: "It's quite a nice video, huh? You and Yang?”

She tried hard to suppress her scowl and keep a neutral expression. "Yeah? So I should probably thank whoever filmed it, right?”

"Oh, don't bother," he said. She could tell how much he was enjoying the situation just by looking at him. "It was a pleasure. You know, the opportunity was there and I knew you'd be delighted to have everyone see it. It's something worth sharing. I didn't know you were so..easy. Only took one date?”

"So it was you," Blake said, not quite a question. Anger was boiling in her veins, making it impossible for her to stay calm. "What the hell were you even doing there?”

Adam only smiled even wider. "Oh, please. Like I’d actually be there for any other reason besides putting more money in my pocket. People really don’t like you, huh?”

It wasn't too surprising that money was one of the main reasons. He’d do about anything for it, especially if it mean spiting a human. Or, more importantly, people he resented. Those around the school often paid him and used his radical, power-hungry views to their advantage. He was simply just a greedy asshole.

She felt like screaming. Instead she balled her hands into fists under the table and tried to hold his challenging gaze. "What do you want?”

Adam shook his head, giving her a patronizing smile. "I don't want anything from you."

"Then why did you do it? Because someone _paid_ you _?_ " She hissed. "What did I do to you now?”

Now the grin finally left his face and revealed a cold, angry expression. "You really have to ask?" 

Before Blake could reply, Weiss suddenly intervened. She could see that she was furious by the way her fingers were gripping tightly onto the edge of the table, knuckles turning white. "I’m afraid you’re going to have to get over that. You and Blake were never going to happen. Get over your middle school failures already, Adam.” It’s pathetic.”

"Shut up, _Schnee_.” Adam spat. 

Weiss’ icy-blue eyes narrowed dangerously as she slowly got to her feet. "And this is exactly why," she calmly said. " _I_ think just think you’re still jealous. Because unlike you, Yang knows where the limits are and she knows not to overstep them. Whereas you really don't know when to stop or give up, do you?"

"She's right," Pyrrha said, glaring at him. "You need to get over yourself and stop blaming your problems on everyone else, when it's all because of your own attitude and the fact that Blake doesn't want a relationship with you. Outing her against her will and spreading a video you weren't allowed to film won't help you at all. On the contrary." 

Adam was frowning now, the smirk wiped off his face. He was completely silent for a moment before he growled: "Say what you want; I know that I achieved something by posting that video. Seeing Blake this defeated is satisfaction enough for all the embarrassment _I_ had to go through.”

Embarrassment. That was laughable. He deserved every bit of it after she constantly rejected him. One time, he even went as far as to corner her in the girl’s bathroom just to complain, but got away with only a suspension.

Blake’s jaw had set after hearing his words. "Wow," She eventually said after regaining at least a bit of her composure. "You're taking petty to a whole new level. You do realize that you're going to get into trouble for this, right?"

He snorted, raising a brow at her. "And what are _you_ going to do? Call your lawyer-daddy on me? Get Schnee to bribe somebody?”

She held his gaze and lied: "I might, but that's not what I meant. What I'm talking about is: Did you think about Yang’s opinion on all of this? Do you think she'll be pleased that you put that video up, without her consent? You publicized a private moment that I’m sure she didn't want to share with anyone at this school. Who’s side do you think people will be on when it comes to her?”

Adam tried hard to look unaffected as he shrugged. "Do you actually think you're that important to her, Blake? Who knows, maybe she's already forgotten about you, moved on to someone more interesting. You're just another unimportant fling to her. Two weeks from now, she won't even _remember_ you.”

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "Are you done? You’re the last person I’d ever want to be talking to.”

With that, Blake turned around and got out of there as soon as possible. Once she had left the cafeteria, she didn't have any idea where to go and just paced around the corridor for a moment. 

She froze in her tracks when she suddenly spotted Yang coming towards her again. Without a second thought, she turned around and walked in the opposite direction, pushing through the stream of students. She wasn't sure if the sound of the steps following her were just her imagination or real, but she didn't look back to check. Instead, she slipped into an abandoned class room and shut the door behind her. Only five minutes alone was all she needed right now. 

After a few seconds of hesitation, she dropped her bag and coat onto a table and sat down on the windowsill in one corner, where you couldn't see her right away in case someone entered the room. 

Once she settled down, Blake took out her sketchbook and began to draw all sorts of shapes, little sketches and faces. It was something that calmed her down and cleared her head, which was something she craved right now.

But after only about a minute, the door suddenly burst open. She looked up, startled at the loud noise and ready to tell whoever it was to get out, but she immediately closed her mouth when she saw Yang standing in the doorway.

Her cheeks were slightly red, her hair tousled. She wasn't smiling or grinning or even looking remotely amused. She looked ready to strangle someone, though she wasn't sure if it was her she was angry at.

Her heart rate sped up as she closed the door behind her and came towards her. Yang stopped right in front of her and just looked at her for a second before she said: "We need to talk."

Blake set the sketchbook and pencil down on the windowsill next to her, stalling and not looking at her. Then quietly said: "I don't want to."

"Blake..” Her voice was thick with concern and frustration and something else she couldn't quite figure out. "Why are you avoiding me?"

She placed a dark lock of hair behind her ear before dropping her hand into her lap. "Because..The video, it's... It shows everything I've been trying to hide. Now it's out in the open, even though _I_ haven't even fully accepted everything yet. It’s hard enough being a faunas and I just-I feel like they're all monitoring me, waiting for us to do something in public." She finally looked her in the eye. "I don't want to be known as just another of your.. I have enough going on.”

Yang looked taken aback now, her eyes were wide in surprise about honesty she probably hadn't expected. Her voice was hoarse when she asked: "Is that how you really feel? ..What you think this is?"

"I don't know _what_ this is," She said.

The blonde’s eyes softened as she stepped forward and closed the small distance between them. "I'm sorry about how things worked out. But I don't care what they think, or what they say. You know I don’t. All I care about is what _you_ think." She exhaled and dropped her head so Blake couldn't see her face. "We didn't talk for, like, three days, and I'm _already_ missing you. It's never been like that before. I’ve never let it. And I kinda wish it wasn't, because it would make everything so much easier."

It was the vulnerability, the rawness of her voice that managed to tear the last shred of her self control apart. Before Blake could think about it, her hands were already moving forward and lightly cupping her face, making Yang look at her. Her lips were slightly parted as she studied her.

"I know," Blake muttered. "I know how it feels. And I'm not angry with you or anything. It’s just..scary being so open about certain things and that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” 

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of how this..us.. will go. And of what everyone will think if they see us.” 

Although there were people like Coco and Velvet, who were not only girls, but a human and faunas, Blake knew how limited her bravery was. She _knew_. It was what the voice in the back of her head reminded her of.

Yang’s eyes widened a little, but she made no move to further elaborate on the topic of fear. Blake could tell she didn't much care for defenselessness. "So...you gonna talk to me again?”

She thought about it for a moment. Then nodded. "Yes. But no _more_ than talking.”

Yang nodded, almost triumphantly, and said: "Thank God. I've already been planning on breaking out the laser pointer again and climbing through your bedroom window.”

Blake rolled her eyes and let go of her face. "Yeah, I bet you'd love that."

She laughed, before her tone became serious again. "Hey, do you know who posted the video anyway?”

"Adam." Blake said, not even trying to hold that information back. Maybe Yang was going to deck him in the mouth. She wouldn't mind if she did.

"Who the fuck is Adam?”

“I had a feeling he was ‘beneath’ you. Different crowds I suppose.”

“Well, obviously. Especially if he does shit like this,” she growled. "I bet I could get him to take it down, too.”

"You can try, but he’s pretty bull-headed," Blake muttered. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she groaned, "And I have to go to my next class... Are you coming?”

Yang nodded and after Blake had grabbed her stuff, and they left the room together. 

They didn't get very far; as soon as Blake stepped into the corridor she saw Sun coming towards them. Yang nearly ran into her as she came to a sudden stop. 

Sun spotted her almost immediately. A small half-smile at the sight of her, he started to continue walking, when suddenly a loud voice said: "Look at that. He can't even look at his slut of an ex girlfriend in the eye anymore."

Sun paused and spun around to see who had the nerve to say that. 

Blake did the same, her eyes quickly landing on Adam. She sighed. Adam was smirking, leaning against a locker on the opposite side of the hallway. 

"What did you just say?" Sun calmly asked. Blake knew that tone; he was angry, but tried not to let it show. Most of the time he didn't have to do much to be intimidating when he wanted anyway. Most would look at the muscles on him and back off.

"Heh," Adam scoffed and stepped towards them. "You know, I get why you're angry. I would be, too. She just.. broke up with you and replaced you with Yang, a girl who doesn't even truly want her.. yet she continues to run after her. It's quite _pathetic_ , isn't it?"

Yang was had crossed her arms, foot tapping relentlessly against the ground. She was pissed, and obviously wanted to hit _something,_ but she kept her at bay, holding onto Yang’s sleeve. Adam watched with an amused expression.

Sun narrowed his eyes at him, one hand clenched into a fist. "I'm not angry at anyone," he then said and flicked a look at Blake. She believed him the second their eyes locked. "Why would I be mad at her for being honest with me?"

Adam cocked a brow. "Really? That's what you're trying to tell yourself? Adorable. Honestly, it's so sweet how you still love her so much and try to defend her, even though she was the one who broke your heart, right? With a human no less?”

"Look," he said. "Being sad about it doesn't equal hate and a broken heart doesn't justify revenge. That’s something you should probably think about yourself, huh?" He nodded as he saw Adam’s eyes widening. "Yes, I know that it was you who filmed it all, dude. I watched it. That’s some real petty shit, you know.”

"And even after watching it you're not mad? Not even a little?" Adam asked doubtfully. ”She moved on pretty quick, eh?”

The monkey faunas shook his head. "No, I'm not. Actually, I'm happy for Blake." His lips curled into a small smile as his gaze flickered over to her again. ”Anyone that isn't you is a 100 times better in my book.”

Blake couldn't help but smile back, feeling like another weight was lifted off her chest. 

"And you, Yang? Are you happy too?" Adam asked and focused on the other blonde now. "Happy to have someone new to amuse yourself with?"

Yang brushed Blake’s hand off and stepped forward. Her eyes had already transitioned to crimson. ”If you think I’m about to sit here and listen to a bunch of bullshit from someone named _Adam_ -”

"What, didn't you like the video?" Adam inquired, feigning astonishment. "Oh, I know. Embarrassed about being seen with Blake, right?” 

Yang frowned, genuinely confused. "Why would I be embarrassed of that?"

"Just look at her," Adam said and waved a hand at her. "A faunas, an animal. Too lowly for a human such as yourself right? A closeted, inexperienced girl. You think you could make something out of that?”

"Not everything is about hooking up. What, you jealous?”

"When is something not, for _you_? The bimbo?" Adam retorted. "What I'm saying is, this is all for naught. I’m almost certain she’ll be of no interest to you once you’re done with her. I think you’re just _bored_. You just want someone to occupy your time becau-”

He didn't get to finish the sentence. As soon as things started to get personal Yang had already cocked back her fist. As Adam staggered, he put a hand to his bloody nose. Yang moved to approach him a second time when Blake placed her hand on her arm again. ”You can’t get into big trouble again, remember? He’s not worth it.”

Adam only sniffed, blood running down his lip. ”I suggest you get a handle on your bitch and her bimbo, before I do it for you.”

Sun was normally a pretty chill guy, so Yang and Blake were rightfully surprised when Adam suddenly got pushed hard against the lockers behind him. There was a loud bang as his body collided with the metal and his breath got knocked out of him. 

”Sun!”

Adam recovered quickly and pushed himself off the lockers to take a swing at him. Sun managed to block the first two punches, but the third one struck his face. He stumbled back and cussed under his breath, then he punched Adam right in the stomach. 

A crowd quickly gathered to watch and cheer. People were blocking Blake’s way as she tried to get to him.

Adam was panting and bending over, but he promptly straightened himself and lunged out for Sun again. 

They both took a few more hits, until Blake managed to get to them. 

As Sun cornered Adam and was ready to knock him senseless, she pulled him back by his arm and towards the wall. Yang helped, both using all of their body weight to pin him against it, holding onto both of his shoulders and keeping him there. 

"Calm down," Blake muttered. "That's enough. You're bleeding." 

Sun finally stopped trying to get back to the bull faunas and let his head fall against the wall instead. "I’m sorry.”

"You don't need to beat someone up just because they say something mean," She said, breathing heavily from their efforts to hold him back.

The monkey faunas wiped some of the blood that was trickling out of his nose away with the back of his hand. Blake felt the familiar queasy feeling she always got when she saw blood and quickly looked into his blue eyes instead. "He just..kept talking and made me blow my top. Adam doesn't understand boundaries until someone shows them to him."

"I can handle it," Blake firmly said. 

He was silent for a moment. Then he suddenly asked, a crooked grin forming on his face. "Hey...do you think a black eye will pick up the chicks?”

Yang smirked. ”Oh most definitely.”

Blake huffed, letting go of him. "You'll look like someone who was stupid enough to get into a fight with an idiot.”

Sun shrugged, and was about to say something when the voice of a teacher cut in. "Thank you, Miss Belladonna, but I'll take it from here. Wukong, Xiao Long, please come to the principal's office with me."

Blake turned around to look at Ms. Goodwitch and moved away from them.

Sun just flashed her a smile and saluted her. "Got it.” He then turned to face both girls as Goodwitch turned around. ”And that’s called taking one for the team! Hey, at least Yang won’t get into as much trouble, right?”

She just shook her head, watching as the two blondes were eventually led away.

+++

Fifteen minutes later, Blake was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the principal's office. To her surprise, Yang had joined her after they let her out.

"Do you think he'll get into a lot of trouble?" She asked.

"I’m not sure," Blake said. "Probably not. Sun will talk his way out of it.”

They were silent for a few more minutes before she cleared her throat and carefully said: "What you said to Adam... Did you mean that?”

Yang stated intently at her for a moment before speaking. "About not caring about any of the bullshit he spouted?”

She nodded.

"Yeah, I did. That stuff doesn't matter...and I’m not-I’m not using you. I’m not looking to take advantage. I know words don’t really mean much but I want to show you that too. Even if it doesn't seem like it, I really _am_ trying. You’re not the only one who’s scared.”

Blake’s breath caught in her throat at that, and for a few seconds, all she could do was smile at her. 

"I should probably work on that, huh?" Yang then asked. "I miss being _okay_ with talking about things like that. I guess we could _both_ work on it. Little by little?”

Her smile grew even wider. "Yeah... I'd like that."

The door of the office opened in just that instant and Sun walked out, Adam following behind him. 

Blake quickly got to her feet and waited for Adam to be out of ear-shot. "How did it go?"

Sun grinned sheepishly. "They lectured me about how violence on school grounds will not be tolerated and that I'll only get detention for it.”

Yang elbowed him playfully. ”I could’ve taken him.”

”Oh, I know you could’ve but considering how your eyes looked, you would’ve done far worse and got expelled.”

”Aren’t you thoughtful, Sunshine?”

”Want to tag-team him next time?”

”You read my mi-”

"Alright, enough," Blake laughed. "Did Adam get punished, too?"

"Yeah, and he got it way worse because I told them about the video and a ton of Yang’s friends corroborated my story." When he saw her shocked expression he quickly added: "I didn't tell them what it was about, only that Adam took it without permission and sent it around out of spite. He's suspended for a week and has to delete it.”

Blake sighed, relieved. "Thank you. Both of you.”

Sun nodded and Yang just smiled at her, gesturing towards the exit. "Anyway, we've already missed half of class, so... wanna skip the rest, too?"

"And actually risk detention? No, thank you," Blake declined. ”And I suggest you not do that either.”

"Fiiiine," Yang sighed, but there was an affectionate undertone to her voice. "Okay then. See you tonight."

Before Blake even got to protest, she had already turned around. 

"Wow, she’s already whipped." Sun commented. 

”Shut up.”

”But hey! Guess you have a date tonight?” 

"Yeah," she muttered, shaking her head slightly as she watched Yang disappear behind a corner. "Looks like it."


	21. Chapter 21

Yang kept her word. Uninvited and without further agreement, she sent a message around one o' clock at night, telling Blake to come outside, just as she was about to get ready for bed. 

She had already thought that what she said at school had been a joke and that she wouldn't actually come. But when Blake looked outside her window, she saw her bike parked right outside of her house. Yang sat straddled on the bike and when she saw her, a smirk flickered across the blonde’s features. 

Blake had to hold back a smile and settled for rolling her eyes at her instead. Then she pulled the curtains closed and quickly changed clothes.

Three minutes later, she left the house as quietly as possible, dreading the thought of her parents waking up and catching her sneak outside in the middle of the night. 

She shuddered as the cold air hit her and jogged over to the bike, where she fluidly slid in the seat behind her.

Yang was turned around with a grin, her golden hair looking as if she had just gotten up. Her right hand, which she rested on the side of the seat, showcased a split, bruised knuckle. Blake wondered what other marks she’d have, had she not stopped her.

"What would you have done if I hadn't come?" Blake asked instead of a greeting.

"I knew you would," Yang answered lightly, without any trace of doubt in her tone. 

The faunas shook her head slightly and slumped deeper into the seat. "Where are we going?"

Yang hesitated for a moment, then she said, picking her words with care: "Remember how you asked me what I was doing some nights? I told you that you wouldn't like it but you wanted to know. So... I'm gonna show you."

"We're not going to another club, are we?" She asked worriedly.

"Nah." Yang laughed. 

Blake was more relieved than she cared to show. "Okay. Why now?"

Yang just shrugged, trying to look casual, but there was a look of weariness on her face that betrayed her efforts. "Well, I thought, since we can't really do much together at school, we have to make the most of the rest of our time."

She was silent for a moment and looked off to the side. For a moment, she hadn't even noticed any movement until Yang started the ignition. She peeked over her shoulder and tapped her side, Blake caught on and wrapped her arms around her. 

They drove off. The lonely alleys were gliding by, a blurred mix of dark and shadows, only disturbed by some stray lights flickering in the windows of the restless. 

In the silence of the night, it seemed like she and Yang were the only people, like no one else was up and living. Blake decided that she liked the thought. 

"You're quieter than usual," Yang announced over her shoulder, as they left the city behind them. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" She asked, startled. It wasn't very common that someone asked her that and even fewer times were they genuinely worried, like Yang was right now. People usually didn't want an honest answer when they asked how you were. "Yeah...yeah, I'm just thinking."

Yang visibly relaxed and Blake tightened her grip around her waist. "You think quite a lot, don't you?" 

"Is that bad?”

"Oh, I'm sure it's not," Yang laughed. " _Over_ thinking still isn't the best thing though. I’d know. Maybe you should do it a little less?" She was quiet for so long that Blake didn't expect her to explain further, but eventually she did. "You don't have to overthink everything a hundred times before doing it. And you don't have to be sure about everything, especially about yourself and your wants. It's okay to not have everything figured out and it's okay to do something just because you want to. Sometimes you just have to be a free spirit, like yours truly.”

Blake looked at the buildings passing by, biting her lip. Her grip on her waist faltered. "Yang, if this is about my sexuality again..." She broke off. "I know that it's not necessary to be one hundred percent sure about it, but I want to at least have some certainty. It feels like I don't know who I am anymore and it's... unnerving."

"I know," Yang said quietly. "But sooner or later you'll become more certain about it. Or it won't matter at all. To me it doesn't."

She pressed further into the blonde, leaning towards her ear. "Yang? ...How did you know? About yourself?”

Yang shrugged, not at all rattled by the question. "When I was younger, that’s when I really started paying attention to boys for the first time. Then I noticed girls." An amused chuckle tumbled from her lips. "Before then it hadn't really occurred to me that I might be interested in girls too, but after a while of considering it and paying more attention, I came to the conclusion that I was. After that, I learned I didn't really care much about gender. He, she, they, doesn't matter. Then I had my first boyfriend." She said as she leaned to turn down a street. "We kissed twice and even though it wasn't all that great, I liked it. A few months later, I played spin the bottle at a friend’s birthday party. I had to kiss a girl, I’d never seen her before and never again afterwards. It felt good, natural. Not that different from when I had kissed boys. That's when I started dating boys _and_ girls and it didn't matter to my friends or anyone in my family really. I've never really bothered with... I don't know, picking a sexuality or labelling myself. It came naturally."

Blake nodded slowly, surprised by how willingly she recounted everything to her. "So what you're trying to say is that I should stop thinking about it and just make my own experiences until I know?"

”I guess, ” Yang chortled. ”Look at that, we’re getting close.”

Blake looked around, realizing that she suddenly had no idea where they were. "Where are we going anyway? She asked.

"No I thought we might go somewhere. Somewhere quiet, we could talk. I know I said I’d show you, but I figured we could go there instead of bringing up the past where it doesn't belong. This is..part of it at least. I used to be a real angry kid and I’d go there sometimes.”

"Okay...and where's that?"

"I’m sure you’ve been to The Gardens before," Yang said, but it sounded more like a question. 

Blake grimaced slightly as she thought of the last time she’d been there, breaking up with Sun. But eventually she nodded. Sun seemed fine, so she could be too. 

It wasn't long until they arrived there, parking beneath some trees. Both girls hopped off of the bike; She watched in confusion as Yang went towards the saddlebags.

Blake couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Right, so what is this? Is this usually how you impress the people you take out?”

Since Yang was turned, she couldn't quite read her expression, but she was pretty sure she was smirking or rolling her eyes. She was surprised when she only said: "Well, no one else ever really needed to be impressed, honestly. I’ll take the extra mile for you, though.”

Blake knew she must've had a small smile at that, but instead of teasing her about it, Yang just motioned for her to sit down next to her. The blanket they sat on wasn't very wide, so it was a given to be touching each other unintentionally. She could feel Yang’s warm body heat through the fabric of her clothes, but since the night was frigid, it was a pleasant feeling. Even more so when Yang took one of her hands into her own.

With her free hand, she handed Blake a thermos bottle. She eyed the bottle warily. "What's is this?"

Yang only grinned. ”A strawberry--

”--sunrise. Right, I should’ve seen that coming. I’m beginning to think you have a problem.”

She chuckled. ”Hey, don’t judge, it’s virgin. I don’t know why you people keep thinking I casually carry around alcohol. I just like the taste, sue me.”

Blake raised an amused brow, then took the lid off and drank a sip. The sweet taste hit her right away. It brought back memories from the first time she drank it.

”Did you make it yourself?”

Yang nodded and took the bottle from her hand, drinking a little and sighing again, contently this time. Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she stared up at the sky.

”So why do you come here sometimes?”

”Honestly, I usually just ride around aimlessly on my bike. I’d come here sometimes to take a break. Depending on what bothered me, I’d just cool off or..you know, think.”

”Oh.”

Yang nodded before fiddling with the fringed strings on the blanket. ”Like I said, angry kid, it took me a along time to suppress it somewhat. I’d have to walk away and go somewhere else or I’d blow up. I still have problems with it, though.”

”Why were you so angry?” Blake asked before immediately backpedaling. ”I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

”At first, I was mad at my dad for not telling me Summer wasn't my real mom. Then, I was angry at my biological mom, Raven, for not even wanting me in the first place. My dad and I would just argue, he’d say that I was being reckless and stupid with some of the things I did. Or that I was following Raven’s path. I ended up being angry at myself for being just like her, as much as I tried to erase her from my life.”

”Where is she? Raven, I mean?”

”Jail.”

Blake’s eyes widened. ”Oh.”

”Yeah.”

”I’ve gotten tired of people telling me that I push people away, until I saw that it was true. It’s just safer. If I’m just like her and her and my dad couldn't make it work, then how would I make anything work? Eventually, I just embraced being like her instead of pushing it away. That way, being hurt would sting a little less, they’d just be dealing with that version of me anyway. The real version would care too much.”

”So, is _this_ the real version of you?” Blake inquired. She could relate on some level to her. She was prone to using masks herself.

Yang nodded. ”I didn't have a choice when I was a baby, Raven just left, so I gave myself my own choices with people as I got older. Hurting people before they hurt me was always a defense mechanism, I think? I can understand if you don’t want-”

Blake put a comforting hand on her shoulder. ”Stop. If she was as bad as she sounds, then I doubt you’re anything like her.”

Yang sighed before flashing a humorless half-smile. ”At least you seem to think so, but with all the stupid shit I’ve done, you might be giving me too much credit.”

Before Blake could reply, Yang had already changed the subject.

"Hey, do you know what time it is?" 

The saddened look in her lilac eyes made her heart break, but if she wanted to end the topic then she wouldn't press.

Blake looked down at her phone. "Close to 2." She groaned. "We're going to be so tired tomorrow...You owe me tea."

"Oh, I do?" Yang laughed. "Am I allowed to give it to you on school grounds then?" She’d asked the question lightly, but she was as serious about this as Blake was.

"Yes," She said. "I just..I still don't want the rumors and the glares to start back up upon them seeing us being...close... You know what I mean."

"I do. That’s okay with me if that's what you want. Especially since it's practically my fault that some people are acting so dumb about it."

"What do you mean?"

"If it hadn't been me you were with, no one would've paid any attention to it. But it's different because everyone seems to care too much about who I’m with and sometimes they get a little crazy when I'm with someone new. Just because of jealous assholes like Nebula or Adam who spread shit around, they think they have the right to go after you because of it."

"Maybe. But it's not your fault, " Blake reassured. "I _wanted_ it, I wanted to go with you. You didn't force me or anything. All I can do about it now is to just accept it. I wasn't ready yet, yes, but I'll get used to it because I have to. It would’ve happened eventually anyway when I _was_ ready.”

Yang was silent, dwelling on something, then said: "You know, I was surprised by Sun’s reaction today."

She had to smile at that. "I am too. He’s usually the calm type, but he’s also just really protective. There’s a reason why most faunas at the school don’t bully Weiss anymore.”

"He’s pretty awesome," Yang said with genuine admiration in her voice.

"He is," Blake agreed. 

For a moment they sat together in a comfortable silence, they drank from the bottle while enjoying the view. With her free hand, Yang pointed at the town beneath them. Lights were twinkling there, like stars that had tumbled from the sky’s depths. 

Gold was a wonderful color.

"I like sitting here at night. I think everything's way more beautiful in the dark," Yang said softly.

"You think so?" Blake implored and looked at the blonde while she was gazing into the distance. 

She shrugged. "You can't see what anyone is up to and they can't see you. No one is judging or controlling you. No expectations. You can do whatever you want at night and when you wake up in the morning, it'll be forgotten. The thought of being yourself is a desirable one.”

There was a tiny little voice in Blake’s head, probably the pathetic ends of her sanity, that was telling her that this was a bad idea, but it got drowned out by the other voice yelling at her to say what she had on her mind. Her breath hitched in her throat before she quietly said: "..What _is_ all of this _really_ , Yang?”

Yang didn't react right away and she was already thinking that she wasn't even listening. Then suddenly, she turned towards the faunas and let go of her hand; instead her fingers found their way to the back of her neck. 

Yang smelled flowery and dangerous. She tasted like strawberries and desire.

Blake’s body froze in shock as she suddenly felt soft lips on hers, kissing her with a gentleness she hadn't expected. 

So this was it. _This_ was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. The butterflies, the electricity, things she had put off as stupid clichés... she finally felt them. She understood. Her heart was beating wildly and she lifted her arms to throw them around Yang’s neck, to have her closer-

But before anything got deeper, Yang suddenly broke away. She looked like someone who had just woken up from a bad dream.

Blake’s entire body felt hot as she stared at her like a deer in headlights, breathing heavily.

"I'm-" Yang stammered, "Fuck, I shouldn't have... I didn't even ask or anything, I'm sorry-"

Not listening anymore, Blake grasped the collar of her jacket and pulled her closer. Her cute little gasp got smothered.

At first Yang was cautious, kissing her and cupping her cheek as if she was scared Blake might shatter into a thousand pieces if she was being too rough. 

Then, once both of Blake’s hands were locked behind her neck, all prior uncertainty had ceased to exist. Yang moved closer and Blake took that moment to straddle her lap. The blonde braced herself and placed a hand flat on the ground beside her while the other was tangled in Blake’s hair. Blake practically fused with her body just to have her closer. 

All along she wondered, in the back of her head, what kissing Yang would feel like. She’d never expected it to be like this, hadn't expected desperate lips and roaming hands and feeling like every inch separating them was too much. She felt like she was being consumed, and for once, it wasn't a scary idea.

Kissing Sun had been so different, not only because it hadn't felt right, but because he was so _rigid_. While he was all muscle and the only thing soft about him were his lips, Yang was _soft_ ; smooth skin, muscle and curves and her lips were even softer.

Neither of them seemed eager to be the first to resist, and in the end it was the lack of oxygen that made Blake lean back from her just to take a deep breath.

Yang’s breathing was just as heavy as hers, but there was a wide smile on her face. "So much for taking things slow. Are you impressed _now_?”

Blake let out a breathless puff of a laugh and swatted her shoulder, just for her to softly catch her wrist. 

"Was that okay?" There was actual concern in her voice, making her heart start to race all over again.

"It was more than _okay_ _,_ " Blake said and tried to pull her closer again, but she caught her other hand as well and grinned up at the girl still in her lap.

Blake rolled her eyes and tried to twist her hands out of her grip, but she wouldn't let go. "What are you trying to do?" She teased.

"What do you _think_ ," Blake muttered, glaring half-heartedly at her.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, feigning surprise. "You want another kiss, Power Bottom?"

Blake hummed noncommittally and tried to lean forward to kiss her, but she leaned back. Yang laughed quietly as she saw her getting even more frustrated, then she finally let go of her hands and pushed Blake onto her back.

"Fuck you," She muttered, but didn't bother to drop the hands the hands that tangled into her hair as the blonde leaned over her.

Yang’s smirk grew even wider. "We could do that t-”

Blake rolled her eyes quickly shut her up with another kiss. 

When she finally pulled back, Yang asked: "Do I get this _every_ time I'm about to say something stupid or...?”

"We would never stop kissing then," Blake replied, unable to hold back her own grin.

Yang laughed, her hands still placed on either side of Blake’s head. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It's not." She used the arms around Yang’s neck to pull her down again, pressing a chaste kiss to her jawline.

Seeing her face light up at her words, Blake wanted to say something, but a yawn cut her short.

Yang snickered. "Am I boring you, sweetheart?" As she got nothing but a huff in return, she said, sounding just a little reflective at the prospect of the moment ending: "Alright, let's get you home."

Blake didn't want to leave this place, mainly because it felt like everything would be forgotten or at the very best a faded memory as soon as they did. If she could save moments to relive them later, this one would've been the one she’d repeat until it got boring. If it _ever_ did. But after a look at the time on her phone, she followed her back to her bike.

Maybe they’d come here more often from now on.

+++

A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of Blake’s house. She expected Yang to stay on the bike and drive off, but instead she escorted her up to the front door. 

"What are you doing?" Blake laughed. She even followed the faunas inside while she was taking off her coat. 

"Gotta use all the time we have together," she replied, watching her with a giddy smile.

"What are you going to do next, follow me into my room?" Blake teased and added, as soon as Yang opened her mouth. "And that wasn't an invitation."

"I’m sure we’ll get there, " Yang purred seductively. 

Blake rolled her eyes and got out of her shoes before turning around to face her.

Her words were ringing through her ears again: _You can do whatever you want at night and when you wake up in the morning, it'll be forgotten_. 

"This wasn't one of the things you forget about when you wake up, was it?" She quietly asked, in a small voice that surprised herself.

The blonde’s face turned serious as she shook her head. "I'll be damned if I _ever_ forget." She stepped closer and kissed her once more. Blake was nearly about to give in completely again, but Yang broke away too soon, her hand cupping her cheek as her darkened lilac eyes locked with hers. "Night, Blake.”

"Good night," Blake whispered, watching as she left. 

A small sound startled her, and she looked around before ultimately brushing it off. Then, she turned around to make her way back up the stairs.

When she was sure that everything was fine, Blake quietly snuck into her room. 

Luckily, the thought of Yang and the feeling of soft lips on hers were more prominent right now and she quickly forgot about the noise or the worries that followed them.

Replaying the memory again and again, she fell asleep with a smile on her face, for the first time in months.


	22. Chapter 22

Even though Blake had gone to bed around half past two the night before, she woke up even earlier than she did on usual school days. Not voluntary, of course, but because her dad came in to retrieve her.

"What is it?" She groaned into her pillow. 

“Your mother is making pancakes.” Ghira answered.

"Wonderful," Blake muttered and already felt herself drifting off again, barely able to keep her eyes open to blink up at him.

"Are you going to have breakfast with us?"

She was about to say no in order to go back to sleep, but when she looked at his expression, she cautiously nodded with a sigh.

Ghira nodded and began to walk off. "Come to the kitchen, try not to doze back off.”

"Give me five minutes," Blake groaned.

With only about two hours of sleep in her system, it was pretty hard to keep herself from dozing off again. 

A few minutes later, her mother’s voice wafted into the room, along with the delicious smell of fresh pancakes. "Blake. Breakfast's ready!”

Blake followed the sound of her voice with less enthusiasm and a muffled yawn. 

When she shuffled into the kitchen, Ghira was already seated at the head of the table, reading the newspaper with a cup of tea in his hand. Meanwhile, Kali was baking the last pancake on the stove. She looked up as she came in and offered a bright smile. 

Blake sunk into a chair and poured some orange juice for herself. When Kali put the plate of pancakes onto the table, she eyed them sleepily.

When everyone was finally sitting and quietly eating their pancakes in the typical early morning haze, Blake became aware of her mother's eyes studying her closely. Finally she said: "Blake, what time did you go to bed yesterday? You look tired."

She sure as hell _felt_ tired as well. Last night she hadn't paid attention to her exhaustion, the adrenaline after the kiss had wiped any thought of sleep away. Now, however, she felt it entirely.

"It got a little late," Blake said vaguely. If they had known what she’d been up to, that she just up and left the house without a word, they would have a fit.

"And what haveyou been doing?" Kali asked with a frown. 

Before she could answer, Ghira suddenly chimed in. "You were here with someone.”

Blake’s eyes widened and she nearly dropped her knife onto the plate. Her mother looked at her with a wary expression. 

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Kali asked, turning towards her husband.

"I saw you kiss someone in the hallway, Blake.”

"That was just Sun," Blake quickly uttered, angry at herself for being a coward. They still didn't know that they had broken up, nor did they know anything about Yang. She wasn't sure how they’d feel about her reputation.

"Sweetheart, what are you two talking about?" Kali asked. "Was someone here last night?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah... Sun came over. He... had a question about the, uh, school project.”

Her father nodded and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright. Please don't invite Sun over that late again."

"You can invite him over at any other time, though," Kali was quick to say. "I haven't seen him in a while. He’s always welcome here."

Blake nodded and swallowed the knot in her throat. "I'll be sure to tell him that." Then she abruptly got up. "Okay, I have to go... see you later."

"Have a good day, baby!" Kali called after her.

Too eager to get out of there before they got any more suspicious, she rushed out of the door without answering.

+++

When Blake arrived at school, she immediately searched for the yellow motorcycle, but it was nowhere to be seen. She shook her head at herself as she realized how disappointed she was. When had seeing Yang become a priority?

On the way to school, she had time to really think about last night and the kiss for the first time. Now she was even more confused; had it had any significance? To Yang a kiss was nothing unusual, she had definitely kissed more people than Blake had. Maybe Yang had only kissed her because the moment was convenient? Yang never took anything seriously; why would she think much of this? She was flirtatious, and she had a silver-tongue, maybe she just told Blake what she wanted to hear? That was what the doubting, self-conscious little voice inside her brain was telling her.

Meanwhile, the rest of her brain tried to reason that she should just stay calm, wait and see, not be too fast with any assumptions. Maybe it wasn't like how she thought. Maybe this was actually as important to Yang as it was to her.

Trying her best to cling to that thought, Blake opened her locker and took the books she needed out. She jumped as someone suddenly tapped her shoulder and caused her to accidentally drop her things, a book and a notepad. When she turned around, she saw Yang standing there.

"God, you scared me," Blake laughed and crouched down to pick everything back up. 

Yang quickly set the two cups in her hands on the ground and helped her gather up all the notes and papers that were scattered around them. "Sorry, didn't mean to," she said and lightly brushed her hand with hers. It could've been accidental, but knowing Yang, it probably wasn't. 

Once she had everything back in her hands, she _really_ looked at Yang for the first time. She looked at least as tired as Blake felt; dark circles standing out on her tanned skin. She wore a small hoodie, a bit of her tousled hair peeking out from underneath the hood. 

"Have you even slept at all last night?" Blake asked worriedly. It couldn't be healthy for her to stay up so late for days in a row.

Yang shook her head. "Nope." Instead of offering an explanation, she held up one of the cups and handed it to her. "Which is why I got us these. Coffee for me, tea for you.”

A smile spread across her face. "You actually bought me tea?”

Yang shrugged and drank a sip. "You asked me to last night, didn't you?”

Blake smiled gratefully at her and lifted the cup to her lips, balancing her books in her other arm. Her eyes widened as she tasted the tea. "Is this Chamomile?" She vaguely remembered telling her that it was one of her favorite teas, but she hadn't thought that she even listened, much less remembered. 

Yang nodded, a hint of satisfaction in her voice as she said: "Yeah. Oh, by the way, you still don't have a new job since you quit at that trashy bar, right?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. I still have to find a new one," She groaned, grimacing.

"They're looking for hires at the cafe I got these from," Yang said. "You should apply."

"You think?" Blake asked. She wasn't very good at the whole... human interaction thing. 

But Yang nodded encouragingly. "Yeah! You already know the entire menu, you know people who work there, you're always friendly... plus, you're cute or whatever. Who wouldn't tip you?"

She rolled her eyes at her, but couldn't quite restrain a smile. "Fine. Maybe I'll go there tomorrow after school."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, I'll go there. Definitely," She laughed. 

Yang grinned, but the content expression faded as she glanced behind Blake. When she turned around to see what she was looking at, she saw Nebula heading straight for them.

Against her hopes, she didn't walk past them, but stopped right next to Yang, offering her a seductive smile and purring: "Hey.”

Nebula had been smart and positioned herself right in between Yang and herself, effectively excluding her from the conversation. Blake crossed her arms and sent Yang a pointed look over her shoulder.

"Did you need something?" Yang asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Oh, you know..." Nebula replied suggestively while trailing a hand up her arm, "The usual. The girl’s bathroom is empty, etcetera etcetera.”

"That sounds like something you should do at home," Yang said, catching her wrist as she put it on her shoulder. “But I mean...enjoy yourself?”

The purple-haired girl laughed, baffled. "What do you mean? Aren't you coming, too?"

Yang shook her head and said, in a voice like she was lecturing a toddler: "Nope. Not interested.”

"It's because of Blake, right?" She asked in disgust, twisting her wrist out of her grip. Then she half-turned around to shoot Blake a dirty look. "It's because of your new toy. What does she have that I don't?"

"A sense of humor? More than three brain cells? The ability to have a real and normal conversation with me? A pretty-"

Blake bit her lip, suppressing a grin. 

Nebula interrupted her before she could say anything more. "Since when do such things even _matter to_ you?"

"Do me a favor and stop acting like you know me," Yang asserted. "Because you don't. At all. Not even a little bit."

Nebula snorted angrily. "In a few days, she'll bore you to death. You wanna know why? Because she's no more than a stupid little girl with a pretty face who has no idea how to handle you. She is _nothing_ like you."

"Keep telling yourself that," Yang laughed. 

She paused for a moment, then said: "-And when you realize that, you'll come crawling right back to me.”

”No...no, I don’t think I will. The head was the only good thing about you, honestly, ” Yang gave a single unbothered shrug. ”Sooo, if anything, _you_ were crawling for _me_ sweetheart _.”_

Blake’s eyes widened imperceptibly. One, that was too much information and two, she forgot how boldly honest and unfiltered Yang could be sometimes. She ran out of fucks to give with Nebula a long time ago.

The emerald-eyed girl shot Yang an outraged, cold glance, then she turned around to Blake, jabbing a finger at her. "If I were you, I'd be _very_ careful, Blake. Getting outed in front of the entire school apparently still wasn't enough to teach you a lesson. But don't worry, I'm sure _something_ will.”

The faunas glared at her, forcefully stopping her hands from clenching into fists at her sides. "Is that a threat?"

"I don't know, is it? I don’t make threats, honey. I make promises.”

"Get out of here. You sound like a 90s supervillain." Blake calmly demanded and slapped her hand away. "..Before you embarrass yourself even more."

Nebula opened her mouth and looked like she wanted to say something, but then nothing came out except for an exasperated growl. Purposely jostling her, she finally left.

Blake just watched her leave, shaking her head in disbelief. Who did she think she was? 

"Sorry about that," Yang muttered, suddenly right next to her and rested her hand on Blake’s back for a moment. 

With a sigh, Blake turned around to her. "I thought you said you broke up with her?"

Yang shrugged, emptying her coffee. "I did, but she seems a little slow on the uptake. Hopefully this was clear enough for her now. I don’t know what the hell she wants from me.”

Blake frowned. "What exactly was going on between you two?"

"Nothing serious," she said briefly, scratching the back of her neck.

"Huh. That's weird," Blake said. "I can't imagine why she's so eager to get you back then. What's so desirable about a solely sexual relationship with absolutely no standpoint? Plus, if you treated her like that I can't imagine why-"

"Ouch. Blake, I don't treat everyone that way." Her voice was oddly serious for once.

She couldn't help but quietly ask the obvious question. "Would, uhm..." She cleared her throat, suddenly shy to meet her eyes. "Would you treat _me_ that way?"

Blake nearly flinched when she suddenly felt Yang’s warm touch against her cold skin, two fingers under Blake’s chin, tilting it upwards so she could gaze into lilac. Yang was standing closer than seconds before. For a heartbeat, she didn't even care if anyone was around to see them.

Yang’s voice was almost gentle when she said: "C’mon. That’s a stupid question."

The smile that involuntarily spread across Blake’s face was enough to wreck Yang’s self-control. 

After she quickly looked around if anyone was near, Yang leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was short and sweet, but it was enough to make her legs go weak and she was glad she was leaning against the locker for at least a little support. She felt the desire and the affection, and for a moment, she could understand the addiction. She could understand the worship and people like Nebula, who _wanted_ to sin.

Blake wasn't even religious, but she knew what dancing with the devil felt like.

_Diavola._

She could feel Yang grinning against her lips and Blake pulled back a little just to mumble: "Stop being so smug, it's not like you’ve accomplished anything amazing."

Yang was still smiling, bracing her hands against the locker on both sides of her. "What, getting you to kiss me isn't an accomplishment?"

"Don't flatter yourself," She chuckled.

Blake paused, staring into crimson eyes that were purple just a moment ago...

”Your eyes are red.”

”Oh? Yeah, they do that sometimes.”

”I thought that was only when you were ma-”

Yang only smiled and buried a hand in her hair, pulling her closer once again. 

But before her lips could even meet hers, a familiar voice resounded, making both of them jump. "Okay, when did _this_ happen? You’re practically undressing each other with your eyes.”

Blake peeked around the blonde just to see Weiss standing in the corridor with a small smirk.

"Hi, Weiss," Blake said, an embarrassed blush tinting her cheeks. "What's up...?"

Weiss gave her a questioning look. Being the good friends they were, they could have a full conversation without any words. She knew that look.

_I thought you two weren't dating?_

Blake arched a brow. _We aren't._

She didn't really know _what_ they were, but they were _something_. Friends with benefits didn't really sound right considering they had only kissed. As heated as the tension around them got sometimes, it never went farther than that, even if some people seemed to think otherwise.

Weiss playfully rolled her eyes, switching to a verbal conversation. "Aw, look at you two dolts.”

Yang laughed quietly and finally released her, eyes back to their natural hue. "Hey, princess.”

"Is now the time when I tell you not to break her heart during whatever weird thing you have going on?" Weiss asked and cleared her throat. "Okay, Xiao Long, listen up. If you hurt Blake, you're going to _regret_ it, for I will hunt you down and give you a _very_ slow, very _painful_ demise. You won’t even see it _coming_.”

Yang looked at her, attempting to be serious. "I won't. Scout’s honor.”

”You realize that doesn't give me the slightest bit of faith in you? Scout’s honor? Really?”

”Pinky promise?”

”...”

”Cross my heart.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, apparently satisfied enough. "..Alright. Blake, how did I do? Was that good?”

Blake only gave her a sarcastic thumbs up, still trying to calm her racing heart. 

"She’s still a little dazed, you see," Yang mocked, reaching for her hand. "Give her a sec.” The blonde then stared directly at Blake, licking her lips.

"Shut up," Blake whined, narrowing her eyes at her, even though her heartbeat had sped up again as soon as she felt her hand. "You’re such a bitch...”

Yang chuckled. "And you’re cute."

Weiss groaned. "You're both atrocious. Since when are you two acting like smitten idiots?" When neither of them answered, she eyed both girls suspiciously. "What happened last night? Why do the both of you look like you didn't even sleep?”

Blake rolled her eyes. "Because we didn't. Since we started doing stuff at night, I basically don't sleep at all." When both of them looked at each other, Yang trying not to laugh and Weiss looking mortified, Blake groaned: "That came out wrong."

Weiss grimaced. "I don't even want to know."

Yang chuckled lightly, then she suddenly waved at someone coming around the corner. Blake immediately pulled her hand out of her grasp, but she needn't have to worry; it was just Pyrrha coming towards them with Nora and Ren in tow.

Pyrrha smiled brightly at them and came to a halt next to Weiss. "Hello!”

"Heeey!” Nora greeted excitedly, looking from Yang to Blake and back again.

Ren just gave them a nod, quiet as always. 

After Yang and Nora performed some kind of complicated middle school handshake, Pyrrha said: "Yang, are you free tonight? We were thinking about going to the theatre. There's this new horror movie that Nora wants to see..."

Nora suddenly perked up at that. "Not just _any_ horror movie, Pyr. _Night Of The Walking Grimm!”_

"That sounds...great," Yang snorted. 

"Yang," Ren said. "It’s better to just let her have this.”

"So, are you coming?" Nora asked, sounding almost giddy. Blake and Weiss exchanged a glance.

Yang nodded. "Sure. But I can't guarantee I'll stay awake for the entire movie."

Nora waved her argument away with a dismissive hand. ”Doesn't matter! You're more pleasant to be around when you're asleep anyway."

Yang stuck her tongue out at her. ”Haha. Oh my God, you’re _so_ funny.” She sarcastically replied.

"Blake, Weiss, you should come too!" Pyrrha said, flashing a warm smile.

Weiss eventually nodded. Blake was a little more reluctant, but eventually agreed as Yang looked at her with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Just as things were settled, the school bell rang, drawing a collective sigh from all of them.

"What classes do you have now?" Yang asked her.

"English," Blake replied. 

Yang nodded. "Okay. See you at lunch?"

She nodded, happy to have something to look forward to on this otherwise boring school day. Yang responded with a wink and a smile.

After a short goodbye, Blake hurried to her class and skidded inside right before the teacher closed the door. She looked around to see that the only free seat was fortunately next to Sun.

She hurried across the room to sit next to him.

Sun beamed at her before he turned his head to watch the teacher filling the blackboard with hasty illegible scribbling.

The rest of the period passed in a boring series of listening to the teacher and the contributions of other students, taking notes and trying to keep her eyes open. 

Apparently, she hadn't been all that successful with the latter. Ten minutes before the end of the period, she got jolted awake by Sun. She startled and looked around, still drowsy.

Sun still had a hand on her shoulder from when he had lightly shook her to wake her up and promptly pulled his hand back. "You fell asleep.”

Blake groaned and rubbed at her eyes. "Yeah... Thanks for waking me up."

Sun chuckled quietly. Then asked: "Hey, remember how we wanted to hang out again? Are you free tonight?"

Blake was about to say yes, when she remembered the evening at the cinema they had planned. "I'm going to the movies with Yang and her friends tonight... Hey, why don't you join us? Weiss will be there too."

”Do you think that's okay... for the others, I mean?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked with a frown. 

"I mean: I think Yang is actually pretty cool. I just don't want anyone to feel awkward, you know? Be a third wheel?”

"Oh," She said. "Yeah, sure. It's not like you think, Sun. Yang likes you, and they do too.”

"Cool, cool.” He grinned, tail swaying happily.

"Yes. We'd all be happy to have you there with us."

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sure thing!"

The bell rung and he got up from his chair, but before he left, he turned around to her once more. "You know, I didn't even think you could smile that wide.”

Has she been smiling? She hadn't even noticed.

“But I’m all for whatever..or whoever keeps _that_ on your face.”

He was gone before she could do more than grin at him.

+++

The sun had just started to set, shedding the last bit of golden light over the neighborhood, when Yang, who was without her bike again, stopped in front of her house. Blake, Weiss and Sun were sitting on the front steps of the porch, waiting for her to pick them up. There was a weird atmosphere around them. It felt somewhat nostalgic, like it had used to back then, when Sun had been her best friend as much as Weiss had been. Blake could almost taste Weiss’ mom's homemade lemonade and smell the scent of gasoline and car paint in the garage of Sun’s dad.

Blake got up from the stairs, Weiss and Sun trailing behind her, chattering quietly about something. 

Yang had the window rolled all the way down and smirked at her when she walked up to the car. "Hey, beautiful," she drawled, winking at her with an arm draped over the steering wheel. 

"No need to flirt with me anymore, sweetheart," Blake said in the same sarcastic voice. 

Yang laughed at that, turning her head so all Blake could see was the hint of a smile and a dimply cheek. "Maybe I just want to? I like watching you squirm honeybunch.”

"Well I’m not squirming, sugar." Blake replied, folding her arms as soon as Yang grinned at her.

"Uh huh. Get in the car, sweetums.”

She rounded the car, not without rolling her eyes at her through the windshield. As she was opening the door, she noticed that Sun was still standing in the exact same spot, looking nervous. She shut the door again and walked over to him, lightly touching his arm. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's just... I don't know, I'm still not sure if I should be here...?”

"Shh," Blake said, holding a finger to his lips. "Stop worrying. They were all happy when I told them you'd come. And so am I.”

A smile took over his face, then he quietly said: "You’re right. I’m being stupid.”

"You are," She replied. "Remember that one time in seventh grade when I couldn't give a simple presentation because I was so anxious? You came to the front with me and sat next to me while I talked. The teacher told you to go back to your seat and you told her-"

"I'd shout throughout the whole thing until the principal came if she didn't let me stay," he laughed. "I remember. The woman still hates me. And it's not something I'm proud of."

"Well, you should be. If it wasn't for you, I would’ve never given that presentation. Or enter my portrait for the art award last year. Or have my first job interview. Hell, you even went with me to order my tea when it was so bad that I couldn't talk to a barista." Blake paused for a moment. "My point is, you always helped me when I was anxious or panicked for no reason. Let me do the same for you."

For a second Sun was staring off, deep in thought, then he suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a tight bear hug.

Taken by surprise, she did the same, resting her head against his chest. A few seconds later, he broke away, smiled at her once more and got in the car. 

She had to suppress a nostalgic smile and quickly got into the passenger seat. Yang smiled at her in a way that suggested that she had watched at least part of the conversation before starting the engine. 

"Hey, Sun," Yang greeted. "How’s it goin’?”

In the rear view mirror, Blake could see Sun looking up with a happy look on his face, as Yang grinned back. "You know, the usual! What about you?"

Yang chuckled quietly as she turned the corner. "I'm okay, thanks. You know about the movie we’re seeing?”

"I heard it's something about soulless monsters?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah. It looks horrible, but that's the kind of stuff that makes Nora somewhat happy and tolerable, so..."

Weiss looked up from her phone for the first time since they had started driving. "What's up with Nora, anyway? Why is so...hyper?"

"She’s not actually that hyper, she just seems like it. She’s just really excitable when it comes to stuff she likes. People included.” Yang laughed. 

The car ride continued with animated conversation, though Blake mainly just listened to them talking and didn't really partake. It was weird, sitting in the car with Yang with someone else in the backseat. She was so used to nightly road trips with her, that it seemed odd to have company.

On the other hand, it was nice to have them all here together, getting along well. 

The drive was a short one. Only fifteen minutes later, they rolled up in front of the theatre. _The Vale Lounge_ was a pretentious name for the run-down, small building with flaking paint. Inside, there were only four small halls, and from experience Blake knew that they were never fully occupied. 

Still, she liked _The Lounge_ : entering it always felt like taking a trip into another decade, with the dusty red curtains and matching red seats, the old-fashioned popcorn machine and the scent of caramel, dust and the cologne of the old man giving out the tickets hanging in the air.

Nora, Pyrrha and Jaune were already waiting in the lobby, holding their tickets. Nora was wearing a t-shirt that was apparently fan merchandise from the movie and smiled broadly.

"She’s totally a fangirl." Sun whispered into her ear and pointed at the redhead.

Blake laughed and turned to Yang. "She stayed in the same spot for that long? You sure that’s Nora?”

"I won't rule that theory out until I see some fingerprints," Yang muttered, jokingly narrowing her eyes at the girl.

As soon as Nora caught them staring, she stuck her tongue out as she flipped Yang off. 

"Never mind," Yang said. "Definitely her.”

Blake snickered and turned around to Sun to keep him involved in the conversation, but when she saw him, he was already talking to Jaune, joking around.

She turned away, satisfied, and asked the others if they should go into the hall where the movie would be playing in a few minutes already. They agreed, and she soon found herself sitting between Yang and Sun in the half-light of the cinema. 

Jaune and Sun were currently discussing what their weapons would be in case of a “Grimm” invasion while Nora made joking comments about how Sun could not make nunchucks also turn into a gun.

Weiss and Pyrrha were on their second shared bucket of popcorn, with the snowette already complaining about something.

They were the only ones in there, which probably said a lot about the quality of the movie.

As soon as the lights went out and the movie began, Yang reached for her hand and inched a little closer, her thigh pressing up against Blake’s.

"What, already scared?" Blake teased in a hushed voice as the first monsters tumbled across the screen.

Yang didn't bother to reply, instead she leaned over and punched Nora’s shoulder. "Look, Nora, it's you. Only about three words in your vocabulary and a face that looks like someone attacked it with a cheese grater."

Nora laughed and promptly answered with a light punch in return, but in the dark she hadn't been able to see who she struck and hit Blake instead.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed and rubbed her sore shoulder.

Yang immediately flicked some popcorn at the redhead. "I swear, if that left a bruise-“

"What, do you prefer her to only have bruises from your mouth?" Nora snorted.

"I pre-"

"I am _right_ here," Blake muttered.

She heard Sun and Jaune chuckling next to her while Weiss made a gagging sound. 

Fortunately, everyone quieted down after that, except for occasional screeches when there were jump scares. After the hero had roamed around the evil witch’s dark tower for at least twenty minutes without anything scarier than creaking floorboards and a few bats showing up on the screen, her eyelids started to get heavy.

At some point she must've dozed off, but soon got woken up by Yang as she suddenly tapped her nose repeatedly.

"What?" Blake asked sleepily. 

"Wanna get out of here?" Yang asked. She could almost hear the smirk in her voice. 

"Come again?" She yawned.

Yang laughed. "Just come with me, okay?"

"Oh no, I hope the walls here are soundproof," Nora whispered, still loud enough for them to hear. ”We don’t allow such things in my holy safe space.”

Blake made sure to jokingly glare at her as Yang dragged her out, holding onto her hand. 

Once they left the hall, Yang walked towards the restrooms. Blake frowned. "Yang...I thought Nora was joking, what’re we doing here?”

The blonde huffed quietly, but didn't stop. Blake could feel the eyes of the old man on her as they crossed the foyer. Just when he looked away, Yang suddenly jogged towards another hall, pulling her with her. When they were inside, she carefully shut the door behind them and turned around to Blake with a triumphant grin. 

"Again, what are we doing here?" Blake asked suspiciously as she looked around. 

This hall was almost identical to the one next door, but in here the lights were still on, though they were dim. And the seats in the back were all loveseats; two seats joined together but without an armrest in between, so they were essentially just small couches.

Yang, as always, didn't answer and led Blake towards one of them. Once there, she pushed her onto it. The faunas was sitting there, watching her skeptically, not really knowing what to expect.

Definitely not that she'd just sit down next to her, snuggling into the seat. When she just looked at her with a confused expression, Yang lazily said: "Go ahead, get comfy. This is definitely a better place to sleep than over in the other hall."

Finally understanding, Blake shrugged and slumped into the opposite corner of the seat, careful to give her enough space to stretch out.

"...What are you doing?" Yang asked, with a cute tilt of her head.

When Blake didn't answer she sighed and reached over. The faunas didn't resist when she pulled her closer to herself, until she was basically sitting sideways in Yang’s lap, legs dangling over the edge of the seat. Once she rested her head against her shoulder, Yang wrapped an arm around her so she could still hold onto her hand. Her other hand fell into midnight locks, lightly running through the dark curls.

Yang sighed contently and relaxed underneath her. She could feel her steady heartbeat and the rising and falling of her chest. When Blake inhaled deeply, her scent was almost overwhelming, perfume and fruity shampoo and everything that was uniquely _Yang_. 

"This okay?" Yang murmured softly. She sounded just as tired as Blake was and when she peeked up at her through her lashes, she saw that her eyes had already closed. She _already_ missed seeing soft lilac that held entire galaxies in them, but the peaceful look on her face was just as beautiful. 

"Mhm," Blake hummed, too lazy to even form any words and tipped her chin up just a bit to press a tender kiss to her lips.

Yang’s heart immediately started to beat faster beneath her and she opened her eyes to half-heartedly glare down at the offender. "I'm trying to sleep. Stop annoying me.” She commented, smiling nonetheless.

"This annoys you?" Blake asked lowly and reached out to turn her face toward her. She kissed her once more, proudly savoring the way Yang shivered from the accidental contact from her sharpened canines.

The blonde laughed tiredly, her whole body vibrating underneath her, then she tightly clasped both of Blake’s hands and put them in her lap. " _God_ , you’re such a tease.” Another huff of a laugh. ”You’re gonna get me in trouble, I just know it.” She mumbled, more to herself.

Blake closed her eyes again, still smiling, and rested her head in the crook of her neck.

Sitting here like this, wrapped up in her arms and her warmth felt new and familiar at the same time, but she decided that she loved it. It gave her a sense of security that didn't feel so false.

After a few minutes, Yang’s breathing became steadier. They were both absolutely sleep-deprived, especially after last night, so it didn't take long for them to fall asleep. 

+++

If her mind hadn't been so hazy and hadn't it felt so cozy, Blake probably would've worried more about staying unnoticed in here, snuggled up with Yang in a public place a ton of people could access- in a theatre notorious for people hooking up in it.

But since she felt absolutely secure and warm and just very, very tired, she only got shaken when some strangers were already about to enter through the door. 

As soon as the light from the foyer started to seep inside, her amber eyes snapped open, heart suddenly racing. Yang was still sleeping peacefully. In fact, one might've thought she was unconscious; that girl really suffered from sleep deprivation. 

Her arms were still holding onto Blake and her head rested against hers. Under different circumstances she probably would've let her sleep like that for hours, even if it was just to watch her be so vulnerably at ease. 

But there were people about to come in, and she wasn't ready to risk to be seen by anyone like this yet. She leaned away from Yang, freeing her hands, and carefully got up. 

As soon as she alleviated her weight off her, Yang began to stir and blinked up at her.

Her voice wasn't more than a husky murmur when she whined: "What are you doing?"

"Get up," Blake whispered. "There are people swarming in.”

Yang looked over at the door that was slowly being pushed open and got up surprisingly fast for someone who had been so utterly out of it only a moment earlier. They both ducked behind their seats as the people came in. 

Blake froze as she recognized a familiar silhouette, heart skipping a beat. Yang heard her quiet gasp and sent her a puzzled look.

"I thought I saw my dad," She whispered, not daring to look over the seat to see if her suspicion was true.

Yang’s eyes widened and she immediately ducked deeper in their hiding spot.

A giant horse faunas with the same build as her dad walked past and Blake tried to calm her heart down.

She and Yang both let out a quiet sigh of relief, even though it wasn't over yet. For at least five minutes that felt like hours, they were kneeling on the floor, until she couldn't sit in that position anymore. Plus the movie hadn't even started yet.

Blake tugged at Yang’s hand and pointed at the exit. She nodded and pulled her hood over her head. She did the same, even though she knew that it probably wasn't enough to disguise her from anyone she or her parents knew.

After only a moment of hesitation, they shot out of their hiding place, the thick carpet muffling the thrumming of their steps at least a little. Yang pulled the door open, blinking into the bright light in the foyer. Blake heard everyone falling silent behind them all of a sudden, but she didn't turn around or stop, not even when the door was already shut behind them.

They were heading through the foyer, not paying attention to the old man yelling at them to slow down, and out of the building. Only when they were a few houses down the road, she dared to stop and leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. 

Yang didn't look the slightest bit out of breath, but she was watching her with a worried expression. "Your parents don't know, do they?"

Blake shook her head. "No. They- they can't, at least not yet."

She nodded, even though she looked troubled. "Do you think their reaction would be bad or something?"

"I don’t know," Blake snorted. "They just always assumed I would be with a guy. They aren’t bad people." She paused, looking away. "Marrying some guy and having 50 kids was just the ’norm’. It’s what was expected of me from everyone, considering my parent’s jobs.”

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to," Yang said. "We can keep this a secret..if it makes you feel better.”

"Yeah, but for how long?" Blake asked, running a trembling hand through her hair. ”You saw the scare in there. Saying it is one thing, but them actually seeing us together is another.”

"Don't think about it," she interrupted. "Nothing happened, that's all that matters. You don't... regret anything, do you?" Yang looked uncertain, anxiously waiting for a reply. 

Blake immediately felt bad for burdening her with her stupid fears and making her feel guilty. "That’s a stupid question," she said, echoing her words from this morning and stepped forward, pushing her hood back so she could run a hand through her hair when she kissed her.

Yang’s lips curved into a surprised smile, then she finally wrapped her arms around her and deepened the kiss. 

The alley was dark and lonely, but Blake was still worried someone might see them, so she broke away after only a few seconds, despite the aching need to have her close.

They separated just as their friends suddenly came down the alley. Weiss was the first one to catch up with them, a smirk on her face when she saw Blake quickly letting go of Yang. "Well, I assume you two had fun?" She announced.

"You still seem a little out of breath," Jaune added with the same stupid grin on his face. "We didn't even hear you."

"Thank God we _didn't_ ," Nora muttered. "What have you both been up to? Besides the obvious, I mean?"

"We didn't even do anything," Yang laughed. 

"We slept," Blake added.

"You...slept?" Jaune sounded as incredulous as someone possibly could. "As in napping?"

Yang nodded. "Yep. What else did you think?"

"Oh, you know _exactly_ what we all thought," Weiss scoffed.

"Blake, what did you do to Yang?" Nora asked, clearly amused. "Why is she being all soft and cute?"

"She’s always been cute." The words were out before Blake could spend a second thought on them.

Yang rolled her eyes, but she was sure that everyone could see the grin she was trying to hide.

"Alright, let's go home before this can get even more unbearable," Weiss muttered. "Jesus, it's frightening how different you two are when you're together."

”Yeah.” Blake smiled. It was bittersweet.

She trailed behind with Weiss, watching Yang as Nora jumped on her back.

The redhead turned her head to glance at Blake, wiggling her eyebrows. ”You _sure_ you didn't do anything? The last time I came here with Yang we almost got kicked out, the girl she was with we-”

Yang used one of the hands she held her up with to flick her in the side before laughing nervously. ”Hah, yeah, okay, Blake doesn't need to hear that.” 

” _Actually_...” Blake challenged, smirking. ”Tell me more.”

Yang was not a shy person, so her aversion to the story only spurred Blake’s curiosity. 

The blonde’s annoyed groan made her laugh, and with these people, Blake felt at peace.

She only wished _all_ of her was at peace. Her mind only continued to tell her how much of a coward she was.


	23. Chapter 23

Blake had woken up with a raging headache, a throbbing pain making it hard for her to concentrate at school. She had considered staying at home, but immediately decided against it. Not only because she wanted to see Yang today, but also because she had promised her she’d go to The Cafe to apply for the job. At first, Blake had been skeptical whether that job was something for her or not, but after she had texted about it with Velv, She was highly motivated to apply.

It was just a small job, fifteen hours a week, but it would definitely help her make some extra cash. She also didn't have to be too nervous about the other workers; Velvet worked there too and had already said she would try and have shifts together with the feline faunas.

She had already sent her online application and only three days later, she’d been invited for a personal interview with the manager. Somehow Blake had the feeling that Velvet had something to do with the unusually quick response.

Right now, Blake was sitting in Yang’s dad’s car(at this point it’s practically Yang’s car anyway)

-Yang’s car in front of the cafe shop, nervously thrumming her fingers on the armrest while Blake eyed the entry. She was ten minutes early and didn't want to seem all too desperate for the job, so she was stalling in the car.

Blake nearly flinched when Yang’s hand suddenly shot forward and clasped hers tightly, interrupting the drumming. The look on her face was sixty percent amusement and forty percent care. "Blake," she said sternly, looking her straight in the eye, "Calm down. What are you so nervous about?"

"Certain humiliation? Becoming the laughing-stock of the entire shop? Answering every question wrong?" Blake suggested. "Never being able to go there again afterwards? Oh god, that'd be awful. I'd have to drive to the one fifteen minutes away every morning before school..."

Yang closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled loudly. "Blake, we’ve already talked about this." 

She let go of her hand and brought it to her hair again, fingers tangling in dark curls and pulling her closer. Over the past few days, she had developed kind of a liking with her hair, always burying her hands in it when they were kissing or absentmindedly brushing her fingers through it. The whole thing was amusing to Blake, seeing as she was so sensitive with her own hair.

"Your false self-image is seriously starting to become a problem. If you'd only see yourself through my eyes for once..." She broke off, not finishing the sentence.

"What do you mean?" Blake laughed.

Yang rolled her eyes at her, though she was still smiling. "Subtle way to fish for compliments.”

Blake huffed when she didn't answer her question, but dropped the subject and played along. "And why would I want you to compliment me?"

"Because you like it when I tell you nice things?" Yang guessed.

"I wouldn't know," She said, grinning provocatively. "When do you ever say anything nice to me?"

Yang replied with a crooked smile. "Oh, bullshit." 

Blake knew she was going to kiss her even before she actually pulled her closer; it was the look in her eyes and the way they were fixed on her mouth for a second that gave her intentions away. The kiss was shorter than she had anticipated (and secretly hoped), her lips only brushing against hers for mere seconds before she pulled away. Yang’s face was only a few inches away from hers, her hands still in her hair and on the back of her neck.

Amber eyes snapped open, but before she could complain, the blonde lowly said: "You're beautiful, for one.”

She opened her mouth to reply, disagree maybe, but her next kiss smothered her answer. When she broke away again, Blake knew better than to try and say something in return when she muttered: "You're smart."

_Kiss_. "You make me laugh."

_Kiss_. "You're sweet."

_Kiss_. "You're creative."

The next kiss was longer, more passionate, leaving her breathless and feeling like her heart was beating out out of her chest. When Yang receded, her eyes were sparkling, her forehead leaning against hers. "You’re so much better than any stupid activity I _could_ be doing.”

Blake laughed and lightly cupped her cheeks, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, you say that _now_."

She stubbornly raised her chin. "And I'll _still_ say it anytime thereafter, thank you _very much_.”

The idea made her heart beat noticeably faster and Blake leaned closer once more, kissing her until she had to break away for air. Then, with a look at her phone, she said: "I have to go inside now... How do I look?"

"Perfect," Yang said without missing a beat and grinned at her while she glanced into the small rear view mirror. 

Although, Blake grimaced when she saw that her hair was tousled and her lips red and slightly swollen. She held up a finger. ”...aaand you would’ve let me go in there, when it’s pretty obvious what I’ve been doing.”

Yang reached out and adjusted the collar of her shirt. "Like I said, _perfect_."

Scowling at her, she got out of the car and only leaned inside once more to ask: "Are you gonna pick me up afterward?"

"Sure," she said cheerily. "You'll kill that interview, by the way."

"Hopefully," Blake sighed. "See you then." 

After she slammed the door shut, the faunas turned around and entered the coffee shop. The familiar scent of coffee and baked goods was somewhat soothing for her nerves, as was seeing Velvet behind the counter. She beckoned her over with a sweet smile as soon as she spotted her.

"Hi, Blake," she said, patting her shoulder comfortingly. Then she took a step back and eyed her with sudden intent. When she looked back up at Blake’s face, a knowing smile was playing around her lips, complete with a raised eyebrow. "You look a little... No, you look _a lot_ like you just hooked up with someone. Did you?" Blake could tell that she was genuinely curious. 

"Velvet!" She exclaimed. "No, I did not.”

"Right," Velvet laughed. Then she made a vague gesture towards the corridor leading to the rest rooms. "The office is right down there. You're the last applicant.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay, uhm... any advice?"

"Just be yourself...and try to relax, okay?”

"Thanks," Blake nodded and turned around. 

As she was walking towards the office she could hear her shouting "Good luck, Blake!" after her, causing her to smile slightly despite her nerves. However, the smile quickly vanished once she was standing in front of the black door cutting the manager's office off from the rest of the shop. She took one last steadying breath.

Then she lifted her hand to knock, but didn't get that far; the door got yanked open from the inside and she nearly got tackled to the ground by the tall man storming out of the room. With an audible gasp, she clung onto the doorframe to keep her balance. 

The man came to a stop, cussing under his breath, before he turned around to her. When she looked up at her face she was surprised to see that he was smiling; teeth flashing white against his tanned skin, brown eyes looking at her apologetically. He was muscular, the grey shirt stretching over toned muscles. Despite his build, he didn't appear to be that much older than she was.

"Sorry," he said, scratching at his messy brown hair. "You must be... Blake?" 

"Yes," She said, nodding.

He held one hand out for her to shake. "Sorry... again. I'm Ozma, the manager. You're probably asking yourself how the hell I got that position right now and honestly, so am I... Anyway, come in!"

She walked past him into the tiny office, looking at the small desk that was cramped with empty coffee cups, houseplants and papers. The rest of the room was occupied by shelves filled with all kinds of books about coffee plantations and all sorts of things.

Ozma was standing in the doorway, still looking a little embarrassed. "Uh, do you want anything? Coffee? Tea?”

"Tea. Only if it isn't inconvenient," Blake answered politely.

Ozma stopped her with the wave of his hand and shouted something over his shoulder. Then he turned back around to her, closed the door behind him and crossed the room to sit down behind the desk. "So, Blake... what brings you here?"

In the midst of the speech she planned out in her head, the door opened and Velvet entered, her shoes clacking loudly against the floor. 

Blake grinned gratefully at her as she simply placed the tea down on Ozma's desk. She winked at her and left relatively quickly.

Once the door had fallen shut behind her, she looked back at Ozma, who was smiling "She's a sweet one, isn't she?" he muttered and finally focused his attention on her again. 

Blake smiled back, sipping her tea. "She is.”

He laughed, showing dimples. "I know she is. So, when would you like to start working here?"

It took a few seconds for her to grasp what he had just said. "You mean... I can... I'm hired?"

The brunette nodded, looking amused by her surprise. "Yeah. You're by far the most promising out of all the applicants... besides, I’ve heard only good things and I tend to trust my instincts.”

"Oh, thanks. I can start working anytime really, I don't mind," She said, still slightly in shock.

"Okay... then how about next Monday at four? That's when Velvet is here too."

Blake nodded happily. "That's perfect."

"Alright. Let's get the paperwork over with then," Ozma murmured.

Only fifteen minutes later, she was officially hired and leaving the office. 

As soon as Velvet saw her, she walked towards her with a curious expression. "So?"

"I got the job," Blake said and laughed as Velvet hugged her tightly, squeezing all the air out of her despite her size. 

"I knew it," she squealed in that noticeable accent of hers when she finally let go, still beaming.

Blake raised an eyebrow at her. "Of course you did. What did you say to make him hire me?" 

Velvet shook her head. "I didn't say anything big. That's all on you. I mean, perhaps I let your name drop in a few conversations, but..." She shrugged casually while wiping over the counter with a rag. "Either way, you’d be a great hire and he knew that.”

"Even if I’ve never done it before?”

A small curve pulled at Velvet’s lips. "Right. I’ve forgotten the job you’re truly gifted at is dealing with Yang.” Before Blake could even start to reply, she said: "Your girlfriend is over there. She’s been staring at you longingly for the past five minutes."

Blake could feel her cheeks heat up immediately and looked over at Yang, who was sitting in the seating area. She was slouching in her chair, holding her head up with the palm of her hand. Right now she looked utterly disinterested, but Blake could see the corner of her mouth quirking up when they locked eyes. Seconds later, she rose to her feet and made her way towards them.

She swallowed and looked back at rabbit faunas. "She’s..not my girlfriend."

"What do you mean? Why else would she be here waiting for you?"

"Uh, because I asked her to pick me up?"

One of Velvet’s bunny ears flopped down for a second, the smile on her face became more pronounced. "Blake, Yang wouldn't just... obey like that. Believe me, she's-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Yang had reached them and she broke off and smiled at her instead. 

Blake grinned up at her when she came to a stop next to her, standing so close their arms were brushing. "How’d it go?"

"I got the job," Blake replied happily, watching as Yang’s face lit up. Then she vaguely gestured at Velvet. ”I’m pretty sure she helped somehow.”

"Not really," she responded, smiling sweetly.

”I wouldn't put it past her to help someone in need, even if you didn't exactly need it.”

Blake smirked, rubbing at her temples. Yang’s attention was immediately back on her. "You still have a headache?"

Smiling at the concern, she nodded. "Yeah, I always get them when I'm stressed."

Yang considered this, then she said: "Then we should probably head out now.”

She didn't really know why she wanted to leave all of a sudden, but eventually just shrugged and offered a wave. "Bye. See you for our first shift together.”

Velvet laughed, waving back. ”You two have fun." Blake knew there was a particular reason why she didn't quite like the way she said that, but it wasn't like she was doing anything to prove the assumption otherwise.

Blake didn't turn around to her, instead she rolled her eyes before turning to Yang. ”What are we doing?”

”Not much.”

When Yang saw her glancing back with a confused frown, she explained: "I thought we could hang out a little longer at mine. I figured you weren't trying to be around a bunch of people after all that.”

Soon, she was following her silently up to her house, where she unlocked the front door and let her enter before her. The only time she had been inside before was when she had brought her home after she had gotten hammered at the party the other day, so now was the first time that she saw the house in the light of day. The entrance area was bright and open and all throughout the house the walls were painted in calming colors and light furniture was everywhere. The interior didn't seem empty though, thanks to the many family pictures, trophies, and house plants. 

Yang turned around to her with a grin as soon as the door shut behind them and pulled her closer with her hands locked behind her neck. Blake gasped in surprise, taken aback by the sudden proximity of their bodies, even though she had somewhat expected it. Since they tried to keep their weird relationship as low-key as possible at school (obviously they knew there was something between them after the whole video-incident, but she didn't want to feed the rumours even more), they could barely hold back when they were in private. 

The blonde kissed her as if this had been everything she had been thinking about all day. While she was expertly driving Blake insane, her body pressed harder against her until she could feel her heart beating rapidly against her chest through the fabric of their shirts. 

Blake’s hands were clinging to her shoulders, desperate to get more of her, even though she had no idea how they could possibly get any closer.

Yang was the first to break away. Seeing her cheeks reddened and her pupils blown wide gave her a weird sense of satisfaction. "Sorry," she laughed breathlessly. "We should probably stop attacking each other every time we're alone."

"You need to stop apologizing every time," Blake retorted. "Do I honestly look like I mind?"

She shook her head, grinning. Then asked, more serious now: "Do you still have a headache?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah... why?"

Instead of answering, she grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen. While she was rummaging through one of the cupboards, Blake sat down at the island counter, watching her curiously. “I know I brought it down here...” She muttered under her breath.

After opening a drawer, Yang made a small triumphant noise before grabbing a small bottle. 

“Can I try something?”

Blake nodded and the blonde proceeded to dab some of the liquid in the bottle on her fingers as she walked towards her. She winced at the coldness of it as Yang’s long fingers reached her face.

Yang immediately stilled at the reaction, pulling back. “Sorry-“

The concerned look on her face was endearing, so she let a small little laugh slip past her lips. “You’re fine. It’s just cold.”

Yang nodded, before slowly rubbing small circles onto her temples. Blake inhaled deeply upon recognizing the calming scent of lavender. 

It was relaxing, and the minuscule movements causing let out a small hum of approval. It vaguely sounded like a moan, which made Yang smirk at her blushed face.

“Lavender oil. Helps with headaches-and anxiety too actually.”

Blake closed her eyes, letting herself be soothed. “How do you know?”

“My mom knows a lot about herbs and things like that. She used this stuff all the time when me and Ruby were little. I don’t believe that it’s some type of cure-all but it helped.”

"Your sister huh?" Blake asked, peeking at her through half-closed eyes.

A tender smile tugged at her lips as she said: "Yeah, Ruby is something, right? You’d probably be seeing more of her if...”

She drifted off and Blake knew not to dive into that specific subject.

"So define _something_?" Blake asked instead. "Because I got the feeling that she doesn't mess around about her food.”

"Oh, she really doesn't. I once ate something of hers and she wouldn't talk to me for a week," She laughed.

Blake was surprised to find that she was smiling too. Maybe it really was because of the lavender oil, maybe it was because of Yang. Fact was, that she was feeling substantially better already. Her shoulders had relaxed, her hands were laying stationary in her lap while Yang was applying the oil to her temples with feather-light touches that sent shivers down her spine.

Without thinking twice, she took hold of both of her wrists, and as Yang was about to say something else, she kissed her softly. She felt the blonde smile against her lips when she opened her mouth to grant her tongue entrance. 

Blake squealed and instinctively wrapped her legs around her when she picked her up and off the counter. “You know, I _was_ going to make a joke about it also being an aphrodisiac..but maybe you already know.” Yang chuckled.

She didn't know about lavender, but she was sure it was just _Yang_ that was the aphrodisiac.

Instead of putting her down like she had expected, she carried her out of the kitchen, and up the stairs. "What are you doing? Put me down!” She whined.

Yang just rolled her eyes at her and said, slightly out of breath: "I’ve picked up puppies heavier than you, what’re you worried about?" 

She huffed, but rested her head against her shoulder as she walked into her room. "Showoff," Blake muttered under her breath, but apparently still loud enough for her to hear.

A mischievous grin lit up her face. She pushed the door closed behind her with her foot and finally let her down, only to push her up against the door, trapping her body beneath hers. "What?”

"Nothing," Blake replied with a grin, putting two hands to her stomach to push her away.

She didn't budge an inch; the only reaction Blake could get out of her was a sinister smirk. "You're far more sassy than you let on. You even have the audacity to do it inside my own home huh?”

Coming from anyone else, those words would've made her panic instantly, but right now all she did was raise an eyebrow at her in challenge."What are you trying to do, scare me?"

Yang didn't reply to the question, instead she said, "I wonder if you're ticklish... on your neck?"

Before she even got the chance to answer, her lips were on Blake’s neck all of a sudden, grazing the skin there.

She immediately shivered and narrowed her eyes at her. "That's not fair. Like at all.”

"I never said I played fair, " Yang laughed and locked eyes with her as she leaned closer again, placing a lingering kiss right below her left ear. 

Blake broke away, startled as a breathy, wanton noise escaped her mouth. Blushing, she slapped a hand over her mouth. 

The grin that snuck onto Yang’s face was even brighter than the shade of red on her cheeks. She lifted her hand away from her mouth and pinned it over her head, along with her other wrist. Then quietly asked, "Is this okay?" 

When Blake didn't react right away she flicked a look at her hands that she was holding above her. Blake made a vaguely approving noise and tipped her chin up in silent invitation. 

Somehow, she was making consent extremely sexy, and she was lost.

Yang just stared for a moment before she leaned in again, gently biting down on the exact same spot that had caused her to moan earlier. This time she didn't try to stifle the sound, instead her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned her head against the wall behind her.

She got rewarded with a delighted laugh from Yang and a few more kisses down her neck, until she reached her collar bone. Each little touch of her lips on her skin drew little noises and shivers from her, until she suddenly pulled away. Blake whined quietly at the loss of contact and opened her eyes only to see a lilac pair studying her with a thoughtful expression.

"Hickeys are okay, right?”

"Yes," She breathed out without a second of hesitation. 

Yang looked at her with a small smile. "You're so beautiful."

Her answer turned into an appreciative sigh when she lightly turned her head to the side and pressed her lips to her skin again, licking and kissing until she suddenly started sucking at a spot on the side of her neck. Blake inhaled sharply at the sudden pain, but it was quickly soothed with another kiss. Yang repeated this a few times, looking up at her with a content smile from time to time. 

Eventually she let go of her hands, letting them fall down at her sides. As soon as they were free, Blake started to tug at the hem of Yang’s shirt, struggling to lift it up. Yang let go of her and pulled it over her head herself. 

For a second, all she could do was stare. At the bra. At her body. Then she quietly whispered: "Um...Fuck."

Yang laughed, running a hand through her hair. Blake wasn't exaggerating when she said that her torso looked like it was from the cover of a lingerie magazine. Defined muscles flexed under toned skin that looked impossibly smooth. Of course she had seen her in a bikini at the lake and in the locker room before Gym already, but not this close and only from glancing at her briefly. Not like this.

"That wasn't a very straight reaction," Yang teased.

She swallowed, feeling self-conscious looking at the Aphrodite in front of her. But then she looked up at her eyes and realized that it probably didn't matter.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled her blouse over her head and tossed it aside. For a moment, everything was unnervingly quiet. She watched her eyes shamelessly drift down, then Yang suddenly stepped closer and kissed her again.

Blake nearly sighed in relief and pushed closer, feeling her skin under hers. It was then that she noticed the small laugh bubbling in Yang’s throat, and broke away.

Yang only grinned, not at all surprised and jokingly said: "I wasn't joking, you know. It really _is_ an aphrodisiac too.”

“Right," Blake said sarcastically, before she could think better of it. "It has to be. I mean, it certainly can't be because of you.” Even so, her hands made quick work of getting her pants off.

"True. I’m absolutely hideous," Yang replied, watching her struggle with a button. The expression on her face flashed through a range of different emotions.

She bit her lip before groaning and letting go of her. Obviously whatever war she was fighting with herself was over.

"What?" Blake implored, eyebrows knitting together. "Are you stopping?”

Yang laughed and put her hand to her cheek, giving her a short kiss. "Yes, I am. We probably shouldn't be doing this already.”

Blake stared at her, deadpan.

“Don’t look at me like that! I told you I wasn't going to rush this and end up having you regret it and scare you away in the end...and I'm sticking to that. It-“

“I wouldn't regret anything.” She quickly interrupted.

Yang only paused briefly before continuing. “It was a moment of weakness. You’re, like, really hot.”

“And you call _me_ a tease.” Blake groaned and let her head fall back against the wall. Her eyes shot daggers at her back as she picked her shirt off the floor and went back to cheerily talking to her like nothing had happened.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sleep schedule said 🌚

It looked like autumn had suddenly broken out the next day. The afternoon with Yang the day before had left a mark on her. Literally. And not only one, but at least four, from what she could see.

Right now she cursed herself for allowing Yang to give her a hickey, even though she knew that if she'd ask her again right now, she’d let her.

All over her neck were dark bruises that she definitely did not want her parents to see, so she had decided to wear a loop scarf in an attempt to conceal them. While they hadn't even looked twice, Weiss hadn't believed that she was only wearing the getup because she felt like it and had quickly lifted the secret of her hidden marks. Both sets of ears were still ringing from her shriek.

There was a small mirror in her locker, one that had been left there by whoever had owned it last year. It came in handy sometimes. After glancing around to make sure no one was near, she pulled the scarf down to expose her neck. With a grimace she lightly poked a particularly dark bruise, wincing.

When Blake suddenly heard footsteps approaching her, she immediately adjusted her scarf and spun around.

"Admiring yourself?" Yang teased with a smirk as she stopped next to her and leaned against the lockers.

She rolled her eyes at her, but there was a smile tugging at her lips while she gave the blonde a once over. "Good morning to you too."

"Can I see?" Yang asked curiously and pointed at her neck.

Blake nodded, laughing. Yang’s face lit up as she stepped closer and lifted the scarf over her head. She whistled approvingly and gently trailed a warm finger over the marks, making her shiver embarrassingly apparent.

"Proud of yourself?" Blake asked sarcastically.

Yang shrugged, still grinning. "I mean, a little? Should I try to spell something out next time? Something like _If found, return to Yang Xiao Long.”_

She scowled at her and took the scarf out of her hand. Pulling it back over her head. "And who says there'll be a next time?"

Yang raised a brow at her and chuckled. "Well, you weren't complaining yesterday...”

Her cheeks immediately heated up at the memory, but she invoked enough confidence to say: "What I mean is: Next time it's your turn." She was obviously joking; Yang had expressed her distaste for hickeys and the like before, so she had no hope at permission to do so any time soon.

That was why Blake was so surprised when she just shrugged and said: "Sure, if you want?”

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't mind."

She frowned at her and shut the door of her locker. "Okay, but I do. I don't want to do something that you're not comfortable with."

"What do you mean?" she said, sounding confused.

"You told me you don't like hickeys," Blake clarified. "So...”

"You got that wrong: I don't like hickeys from unimportant hook-ups. I wouldn't mind one from you... or a dozen, if you want to get even," Yang laughed, gesturing towards her neck.

It was absolutely ridiculous how happy just that one sentence made her and she did her best to restrain the broad grin that threatened to take over her whole face. "We’ll come back to that next time we're alone," Blake promised and was satisfied to see Yang’s breath hitch.

“O-oh yeah?”

Before she could comment on that, Pyrrha skipped towards them and slung an arm around Yang’s middle. "Hello again! You two look awfully happy..." she said, smiling brightly. 

Yang grinned at her and propped her elbow on her shoulder. "Hey, so about the money I owe you...”

“What mon-“ Pyrrha paused, narrowed her eyes at Blake, and gasped. “You _didn't_. Is that why Blake looks like she got hit by a bus?”

Yang rolled her eyes. “I meant a different bet, and I never agreed to the one you’re talking about. That was all Nora. Nah, Blake _actually_ got hit by a bus, send her flowers.”

“I did?”

“That’s what we’re going with. I’m not giving Nora _shit_.”

She narrowed her eyes at her, which Yang acknowledged with an unimpressed smirk. 

Pyrrha chuckled. "Honestly, Blake, how do you put up with her?”

"Uh excuse you." Yang asked in the same moment that Blake said: "Honestly? I have no idea."

"I see," The redhead laughed, before she said, suddenly excited: "Oh, I nearly forgot! The shop starts to sell the dresses we need today. I thought we could all go shopping together?"

Blake tried not to look too opposed since she knew that she had poured her heart into this year's prom's planning. "Uh, I don't think I'll go to prom to be honest."

Yang and Pyrrha looked equally bewildered. 

"What do you mean, you're not going?” Pyrrha inquired.

"I'm not really into that stuff, you know..." Blake said, getting uncomfortable under their disapproving stares. "I would've come if I still was with Sun because he would've dragged me there, but..."

"Of course you don’t have to but...” Yang said. "It'll be fun.”

A nagging voice in her head pointed out that the prom was still a few months away and she didn't even know if Yang would still be interested in her by then, so she just settled on shrugging vaguely. 

"Pleeeease," Yang pleaded, giving her big purple puppy-dog eyes. "You don't even have to be there _with me_ if you don't want to. And you don't have to dance either. Just be there. It’ll be no fun without you."

She tried to hold her gaze, but it soon became too intense and she directed her stare at her shoes instead. "Okay, fine. I'll be there.” She grinned.

Yang smiled happily while Pyrrha clapped her hands in excitement. "Wonderful! So you're coming shopping with us today as well?"

"Sure," Blake sighed.

"Great, so that's settled. I'll meet you both at Yang’s around five?"

After she and Yang agreed, Pyrrha walked off and only turned around once more to say, clearly amused: "By the way, Blake? A cold compress will help with that hickey.”

She stared after her and grumbled, one hand flying to her neck and cursed quietly while Yang burst out laughing.

+++

"Which one do you like better?"

Blake furrowed her brows and stared at both of the dresses that Pyrrha was holding. "Aren't they identical?"

Pyrrha paused her motions to examine them herself. "Well, the clerk said this one is a different shade of red plus, it has a lower neckline, see? I have to wear a dress anyway, I can’t exactly show up in armored plating.”

Pyrrha, Ren, Jaune and Nora had all agreed on wanting to show up as unique characters; outfits that no one else would have.

Pyrrha, being in the council, had the smart idea to write down characters or aesthetics to fit the fictional theme of the dance. As soon as she got the slip of paper that said ‘warrior’ the four of them decided to make it a group thing.

They would each go as a warrior based on their own descent so, naturally, Pyrrha would be going as a Greco-Roman warrior, Ren was East-Asian, Jaune was European and Nora would be going as Nordic warrior.

The group chat was filled with them all going to Blake about her knowledge of any book characters that would fit each theme. Blake couldn't really give them characters that fit the specific guidelines. After giving it some thought, she consulted them: _”How do you feel about being genderbent?”_

This is how Pyrrha became a female Achilles. 

"Pyrrha, I honestly cannot tell the difference. I’m still surprised that you know people like Coco and Weiss, yet you’re asking _me_ about fashion. _”_

Behind her, Blake heard Yang laughing quietly as she finally got out of her seat. They had been sitting in front of the fitting room for at least thirty minutes now, trying to give each other advice on what to buy. "Try the left one on," Yang suggested. "And give me those, I'll return them."

The redhead nodded and handed her the dresses she had already tried on and ruled out before she disappeared behind the curtain again. Yang winked at her as she walked past the faunas to bring the dresses back to their hangers. 

When she returned, Blake asked: "Do you have an idea on what you’ll be wearing?”

“Mhm. It was pretty easy, it’s why Pyrrha needs me for my amazing advice.”

"It's the other way around," Pyrrha called out, barely muffled by the curtain. 

"Shut up, woman," Yang shouted with a grin. 

The elderly woman walking nearby in that moment sent Yang a glare, to which she stuck her tongue out and replied with: "Sorry, granny, wasn't talking to you!"

The narrowed eyes on her face got even more evident, so Blake felt obligated to say something. "Excuse my... friend, ma’m. She's still practicing respectful social interaction."

The woman smirked at her before turning to continue her staredown with Yang. "Trust me, I know. Tell your girlfriend to shut her trap!" 

“I swear to god, Maria-“

“Look at you, bullying an old woman!”

“Don’t act like you don’t bully me every time I visit you!”

“It’s not good to lie, child.”

“Listen here you-“

“Yang...”

Yang paused mid-gesture to turn to Blake. “What?”

“I really hope you don’t talk to every elderly woman that way.” 

The blonde chuckled, waving her off. “Only the ones that deserve it.”

The woman, Maria, glared even harder at Yang, receiving one in return, before turning to Blake with a sweet smile. “I like you. If this one had any sense she’d take a page out of your book.” She shook her head. “Tsk. Talking to an old woman that way...”

“Don’t fall for that, Blake-“

Ignoring her, she continued. “I have hope for your generation yet, child. Yang led me to believe there was something wrong with the water. Now I know there’s just something wrong with _her_.”

“Hey!”

The short woman had already began to walk off before Yang could say anything else. 

“I’d keep her around if I were you!”

Blake only stared, puzzled, followed by her ears flopping down in intrigue. Her face asked a million questions. 

Yang shrugged, chuckling quietly. 

“Uh, no. That is not something you just shrug off without answering again. I hate it when you do-“ Blake began but got cut off as Yang turned around just in time to see Pyrrha stepping out of her changing room. 

Yang _did_ turn around to wink at her over her shoulder, earning a fond eyeroll, before giving the redhead her attention.

Both girls smiled in unison as they stared at her. Next to Pyrrha, even the richest of princesses would've paled. She looked like a goddess; the red fabric clung tightly to her figure, enhancing all the right spots. Her red hair fell loosely over her shoulders and her eyes were shining just as brightly as her smile.

But soon her smile turned into a sour expression as she pulled the dress up to show off a little less décolleté. "This itches."

Yang laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, eyeing her closely. "Don't worry, if you go looking like that, you won't be wearing it for long."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes, smiling, she still didn't seem too pleased. 

"You look amazing, Pyrrha," Blake said instead. 

She scrunched up her nose as she twisted in front of the mirror and said: "It looks fine, but I can't have two uncomfortable articles of clothing. The high heels will be bad enough, but an itching dress, too..."

Yang shook her head, still chuckling. "You'll figure it out. Blake and I will be on the second floor looking then, okay?"

She nodded and ushered them away with a wave of her hand. 

The blonde walked around Blake and wandered off without looking back to make sure she was following. She had to jog to catch up with her. "Let's find you a nice dress shall we, Beauty?”

She nodded and followed her down the escalator to the area with accessories. "I still don’t see why you insist that I be Belle.”

"Because of your last name, duh," Yang said while flipping through a rack of fancy dresses. "What colors do you want?"

"Uh... black?" She murmured and looked around. "Shouldn't we ask an assistant for help?"

Yang shook her head. "Not necessary. I've been buying and wearing shit like this since I was like thirteen, when my dad had colleagues or clients over for dinner."

Blake perked up at that. Yang doesn't really talk about her family much, so she was excited about every little detail. "What does your dad do?”

"He's a surgeon...”

"I don't think I ever saw him..." She mused. 

Yang shrugged. "Yeah, he isn't home a lot. He’s in the west coast, Vacuo City or whatever. Most of the time he’ll bring Ruby with him." Before Blake could ask any more questions about _that_ , she had already gone back to focusing on the task at hand and suddenly picked a dress out the dozen, holding it up victoriously. "Try this on. I'll be there in a few minutes, kay?"

She figured that refusing wouldn't get her anywhere, so she accepted the dress and looked for an unoccupied changing room. There, she made quick work of stepping out of her clothes and pulled the dress on.

Just as she was half-way finished with zipping the back up, the door opened behind her and two arms wrapped around her torso. 

Blake squealed, startled, and felt Yang laughing behind her. "Looking hot," she whispered into her ear.

She immediately felt goosebumps traveling across her body and looked at her through the mirror. "Down girl, I'm not even fully dressed yet."

"Exactly," Yang said, smiling innocently as she rested her chin on her shoulder. 

Of course she didn't stay that tame for long: seconds later she felt her lips lightly grazing over her neck, right above one of the hickeys. "I really, really like this," she murmured.

"The hickeys or the dress?"

"The dress too, but the hickey even more."

"Oh, really," She said dryly, raising a brow at her. "You love to have me _branded_ like this, don't you?"

Yang shrugged, zipping the dress up. "I just like the reminders, Kitten."

Blake looked down in embarrassment and a lack of a good answer, feeling her cheeks heating up.

When she was done, Yang leaned against the other wall, musing thoughtfully: "Huh. Kitten doesn't really feel right anymore... That was my teasing name to annoy you when you pretended not to like me."

"Maybe I still don't," Blake muttered mockingly, but couldn't keep a straight face and eventually laughed.

"Alright, _now_ it seems appropriate."

"It will never be appropriate. Especially not for flirting in a changing room."

Yang laughed. Blake bit her lip as she glanced at her; her laugh was always melodic and something about it always made her twice as attractive, for some reason. 

"I liked it. But maybe it's time for a better pet name." She grinned mischievously. "I'll try some."

"Oh dear," Blake muttered and finally turned around to look into the mirror. 

"Dear? Great idea," she said, clearly delighted. "You look gorgeous, _dear_."

The faunas couldn't hold back a giggle, because the words just seemed so weird coming from her mouth. "Not that one. My grandmother always calls me that."

"Well, that's a turn-off... But I'll find something else, sweetheart," she said. "For real though, you look sexy.”

Blake hummed appreciatively. “You think?”

Yang rolled her eyes at her and drawled, struggling to keep a serious face: "You look amazing, _darling_.”

+++

Shortly afterwards, they were standing next to Yang’s car, carrying their bags. 

"I'll drive, okay?" Pyrrha suggested and held a hand out for the keys.

Yang only cocked a brow at her. "Don’t wreck it.”

“You mean like _you_ almost did when you-“ 

The blonde threw her hands in the air exasperatedly. “Why am I even friends with any of you? Stop exposing me!” She dropped the keys in Pyrrha’s hand, grumbling under her breath.

Blake snorted and got into the backseat, quickly followed by Yang, who sat down in the middle seat so she was close enough to wrap an arm around her. Once they fastened their seat belts, Blake rested her head on her shoulder and stayed like that for as long as they could.

“I wonder what Pyrrha was gonna say...” Blake dryly muttered.

Yang took the bait. “No idea what you’re talking about. You shouldn't listen to her, I’m a born-again. I’m innocent.”

“She’s lying, by the way.” Pyrrha’s sweet voice rang out.

“Oh, I know.”

“Hey!” 

Yang ceased any further protest when Blake placed her hand on her cheek. “You wouldn't know religion if it slapped you in the face, _Diavola_.”

“I don’t know what that means but I’m, like, extremely turned on right now.”

“Exactly. Born-again, my ass.”

Yang chuckled. “Okay, you caught me. Maybe not a Born-again, but I’ll gladly worship _you_ anytime.”

Blake was almost disappointed how quickly they pulled up in front of her house. After saying goodbye to them and taking her bag from the trunk, she made her way inside. 

As soon as she entered, she felt that something wasn't quite right. She had become pretty good at sensing tension and right now the air was practically crackling with it. With an uneasy feeling in her stomach, she dropped the bag next to the door and got out of her shoes. The scarf, she obviously left on. 

Then she walked towards the living room, from where the muffled voices of her family came. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room, smiling nervously. "Hey...”

The faces of her parents were unsettling her even more. They both stared up at her with sad faces, a hard line around her dad's mouth.

"Blake, sit down," Ghira said.

She immediately did as she was told, sinking into the armchair on the opposite side of the small table, facing her parents. 

"Where were you today?"

"I was buying a dress for prom, like I said..." She stated. The nervous fluttering in her chest became stronger as her anxiety grew. "Why?"

Her parents exchanged a glance, before Kali finally spoke up for the first time. "Blake, please take off your scarf."

She could feel her heart skip a beat, her hands were clenching and unclenching nervously. "What, why-"

"Sweetie..." Ghira pressed.

Gulping, Blake obeyed, slowly pulling it over her head. She closed her eyes. Then she suddenly felt Ghira’s hand softly gripping her chin, turning her head from side to side so he could get a better view. Only when he let go, she dared to look up at him. He frowned.

She expected him to say something to her, but instead he turned to Kali. "I told you. The video is real."

It was in that exact moment that Blake felt her blood freeze in her veins, her entire body becoming stiff. "What video?" She rasped.

Ghira turned around, looking at her sympathetically. Then he lifted his phone and let her see the clip. 

While the video started, showing Yang kissing at the club, he asked: "Does this look familiar?"

_Well fuck._


	25. Chapter 25

The room began to spin. The floor tilted. For a few seconds, all Blake could hear was the blood rushing in her ears; her mom's lips were moving, but she couldn't make out what she was saying. She wasn't sure if she wanted to.

She had to fight down the childish impulse to jump up and run to her room. What use would it be? They knew, her parents knew about Yang and there was nothing she could do about it. It was about time to own it anyway.

There was that feeling again, the same that had overcome her the day the video had been passed around the school; the feeling of vulnerability, being exposed, not being able to keep to herself like she so preferred. The feeling of not being ready to face the consequences of having the truth out in the open.

Ghira’s hand on her shoulder, lightly tapping her, snapped her from her daze. "Blake, calm down," he spoke softly, his face twisting into a sadness that Blake didn't expect. "We are not mad at you..just..Where is this video from? Why were you with Xiao Long’s kid?”

Blake gulped, staring down at her hands. The words seemed to burn like acid in her throat as she spoke them out aloud. "It was filmed in- in a bar. I didn't drink anything. And I.." She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I like her."

Everything was silent for a moment. The air was tense and pregnant and it unnerved her, she could practically hear the gears turning in their heads.

When she looked up she saw that Ghira was staring down at her, his face was part concern, part sadness. The frown on his lips become more pronounced.

Kali frowned too as she got up and walked over to where her father was standing, positioning herself next to him. ”Baby, why haven't you told us?”

Blake clenched her teeth, directing her stare at the floorboards again, feeling like she might throw up any second if they kept looking at her like that. 

"Are the bruises on your neck from her?" Ghira inquired.

She put a protecting hand over the side of her neck, but nodded. 

“She really did a number on you..”

“Mom...”

“I’m just stating facts, sweetie.”

“Does this mean you two have..” Ghira trailed off.

“Huh? ..Oh. _Ohh.”_ Memories of the other day flooded her brain, making her blush. “No...”

What was she going to say? _‘Almost! A lot of almosts, actually. Apparently your child is a hormonal mess and Yang is practicing abstinence, but I kinda want her to step on me..?’_

“You don’t sound very sure.”

"But what about Sun?" Kali asked, gracefully changing the subject, eyebrows knitting together.

"I broke up with him a few weeks ago. Mom-”

Kali looked a bit relieved. 

Good. She wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. She would have never cheated on Sun, no matter how unhappy she was at times. She knew how much her mom liked him, they just needed to understand...

Before she could finish her thought, she got cut off by Ghira. "I’ve heard about her, Blake, I know her reputation. I don’t know about this. I don’t want you to get caught up in anything.”

Her head snapped up at that, anger slowly seeping through the mess in her head. _That_ was what he was worried about? "What are you talking about? She’s not a bad person!”

"How would you know? You’ve said it yourself, you broke up with Sun not too long ago. I can imagine that this all is fairly recent. I know Tai-yang and I know about all of the stupid things his eldest daughter has done. She’s a delinquent, sweetheart-“

Kali glared at her husband. “Ghira..”

Clenching her hands into fists to stop them from shaking, Blake leaped to her feet. "Don't call her that," She hissed, looking her father in the eye. Although she was glad not to see disgust in her parents’ eyes, she wouldn't stand for _this_. "And she didn't do anything that I didn't _want_.”

"I just don’t want you to get hurt. It pains me enough that you didn't feel..safe enough to tell us. I love you and I will be _damned_ if I let that safety diminish further because of some disastrous kid!”

As soon as he spoke the words, her anger continued spiral. ”And you wonder why I don’t tell you things. What is it _really_? Is it because she’s a _girl_? Or because she’s a _human_ girl?” She mumbled out of spite.

Even before she’d said that sentence, she knew it was a mistake. When Ghira looked absolutely heartbroken, this only got confirmed.

Blake shut her eyes, preparing herself for the reprimand that never came. When she blinked up at him, she saw that her mom had a hand on his shoulder and was muttering to him in a low, calming voice. Her faunas ears easily picked it up.

_Let her make her own choices, darling. She’s a smart girl._

Finally, her father shook his head and asked, voice dripping with remorse: "How long has this been going on, _exactly_?"

"A few weeks," She muttered. 

"And why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I was _afraid,_ okay _?”_

Ghira sniffled. "I..I wish you would have. I don’t care who you like, baby girl. It isn't about gender or orientation or species, it’s about one’s spirit. I just want you to be with a good person.”

"I don’t care whether you like her or not," Blake said quietly. "This is how I feel and I don’t _care_ about what you say she did.”

Kali made a choked noise and Blake could see that she was fighting with tears. “I am so sorry that you thought that we wouldn't accept you. We do, we love you. Your father...forgive him, he just worries.” 

Blake nodded. “Thank you.” She was grateful for their acceptance, that was all she wanted but what was the point? What was the point if they only accepted _her_ and not Yang too?

There were a million things she wanted to say, but she was just too exhausted to try to explain any of it.

Before she could say anything she’d regret, she turned around and walked out of the room and up the stairs. 

Once she was in her room and sitting on her bed, she didn't know what to do. Part of her wanted to go back downstairs and yell at them, beg them for their understanding of Yang and apologize at the same time, while the rest of her wanted to just stay in her room.

Both weren't really an option, so in the end she just flopped onto her back and stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. She didn't want to be frustrated at them, but she was. Her dad had painted Yang out to be some type of criminal asshole when she was nothing of the sort around her.

Yeah, she’d heard rumors before too but they either weren't true..or Yang made it a point not to involve Blake. She admitted to her birth mother going in and out of jail and she admitted to doing stupid things in the past.

She was not a bad person. She wasn't dangerous. She wasn't her mom.

The urge to blow up slowly faded and left her feeling numb. 

After a while, she pulled her phone out. Her stomach lurched when she saw that she had received three new messages from Yang already. She couldn't muster the strength to look at them, so she just deleted the notifications and tossed her phone onto the bedside table. 

It was absurd how quickly the tables had turned: one moment she was sitting with Yang in the backseat of her car, completely happy and at ease, the next she had to defend her in front of her parents. Ghira hadn't even given her the opportunity to express herself, to argue back in detail. Instead he had bombed her with accusations, leaving her feeling dirty and like she had actually done something wrong.

When she’d been with Yang, it had felt right, better than anything else had in a long time. Maybe she could make him understand. But thinking of the protectively determined look on her dad's face was enough for her to understand that that might not happen.

With his occupation, he saw things like this all the time. He tried not to judge a book by it’s cover and it only bit him in the ass in the end. _Delinquents_ , his coworker would say, _they’re always human because they can get away with it. We’re better off sticking with our own kind._

Even though she knew all of the stories, she had honestly thought that if she came out to them, things would be different. She didn't think she’d have to worry about Yang’s character being questioned. 

She was happy, surely that should be enough, but no. 

It wasn't about letting Blake make her own mistakes and learning from them with him. Her dad didn't even want her to be put in the position to make the mistake in the first place. He wanted her to have a better young life than he did.

She didn't feel like she made a mistake, she didn't feel like Yang was misleading her. She would stand by that.

The disappointment was visceral, and Blake fell asleep with a pit in her stomach. 

++

When Blake woke up the next morning, she was too drowsy to remember yesterday's events for a precious five minutes. Then the memories came back, rolling over her like an avalanche, and the pressure in her chest returned. 

Deciding that she wanted to spend as little time at home as possible, she rushed into the bathroom and showered in record time, then quickly put on some random clothes she found scattered around the room. She didn't care. Today she didn't even bother to cover up the hickeys that were still evident on her neck. Her parents had already seen them and in her hazy state of mind she didn't really care what people at school would think.

Then, she slipped her phone in her pocket, smiling at Yang’s good morning text, and pondered if she should go into the kitchen where her dad was bound to be. She decided to go for it, simply because she couldn't go to first period without eating anything and also because hiding from him seemed stupid. Sooner or later she would have to deal with it anyway. 

Her parents fell silent as soon as she entered the room, Kali offered her a small smile.

Blake didn't say anything as she crossed the room, only waved in passing and took a banana and a yogurt from the fridge. Their eyes followed her every move, as if they were waiting for her to do something outrageous. She wasn't quite sure what they were expecting... for her to throw a tantrum? Move out?

By the time she turned around to escape the kitchen and the tense silence, she became unnerved from the undivided attention that was directed at her. She couldn't wait to get out of there, but as she was just about to leave, her father suddenly rose to his feet.

Steeling herself for the worst, she came to a stop. 

"Sit down, Blake" he gently asked. 

She knew that tone of his well enough to obey, but it didn't keep her from sighing quietly. Blake looked down at her hands, not able to bear the sympathetic look from her mom.

“You’re aware of what I had to go through. You’re aware that your mother had to birth you _alone_ because of the crowd I hung around. The blame was put on me for simply being a faunas," Ghira said. He made no move to sit down, instead he put his hands on the back of his chair and stared down at her. "I think it's clear, even for you, that this isn’t the life style you need to have. I’m positive that, if we stop it now before it can get out of hand, you’ll be safe. You won’t end up imprisoned or worse.” He raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing at his stressed features.

”That girl’s mother, Raven Branwen? She’s trouble. The entirety of the Branwen Clan is trouble. You realize that she is one of them, yes? Initiation and all. This isn't the right path for you, my cub.”

"And what's that? The right path?" Blake asked, unable to keep the challenging tone from her voice. "Just because it's right in your eyes, doesn't mean it's the right one for me."

Ghira sighed. Without responding to her argument, he said: "From now on, I think it’s best to keep your distance from Xiao- from Yang...”

She was on her feet as soon as she heard Yang’s name. Her jaw was set, her hands clenched to fists at her sides. "Dad..You-you can’t do that!”

"I know her type, Blake.”

"And how are you going to keep me away from her?" She asked, fuming with rage by now. Every fiber of her being ached to convince him.

She was surprised, when her mother answered. "Your father’s coworker has a daughter, Nebula, she’s a sweet girl. She told him that she’d keep an eye on you and that’d she’d have your back if any trouble came up.”

Blake’s jaw dropped and all she could do was stare at them for a few seconds. Not only had she just confirmed her suspicion about Nebula, but she had even convinced her parents that she was a _friend_.

She didn't even recognize her own voice, cold and unforgiving as she asked: "Excuse me?" She looked back at her father. "I’m not a child! She only wants to keep me away from Yang.”

"Then she sounds like the ideal person for this." Ghira nodded. "I’m just being cautious-“

Blake swallowed, trying to keep her cool. "You’ve gotta be fucking _kidding_ me.”

"Language, sweetheart. This is _necessary_. It's for the best," He said. The sad thing was, that he probably actually believed that.

"It might be the best for you, because you want to judge Yang for past actions. But what about _me_? Being with Yang, that was the best for me. And now you're taking that away from me," She said, nearly choking on the words. Even in her own ears, the words sounded overdramatic and childish, but she found no better way to articulate her feelings. 

Ghira frowned, looking partly guilty. Instead of answering he held his hand out. "Let me see your phone.”

"I... Why?"

“If there isn't anything bad going on like you say, then there isn't anything for you to worry about.”

She sighed and handed him the phone. He took it and, to her horror, turned it on. Yang’s previous messages were still on the screen. 

She hoped that Yang hadn't sent anything sexual or something.

Ghira raised a brow and read one sentence out loud: "Mornin’ _, babe...”_

Blake blushed and put her head in her hands.

He looked down at her, confusion distorting his features. "Are you in a relationship with her? Isn't that a bit fast?”

"No..that’s just how she talks." Blake groaned, her fingers itching with the urge to reach out and retrieve her phone. 

He suddenly turned it off and slipped it into his back pocket. A new wave of helplessness crashed over her when she saw her last chance of communicating with Yang disappearing. 

“Assault..vandalism..I’m sure there’s more. That’s only what I know from the top of my head. Blake, why would you want to associate yourself with someone like that? She’ll bring you down.”

“I don’t care...”

“Well I do.”

If she had still been a child, this would've been the moment when she would've stomped her foot and shouted that this wasn't fair. Instead she said, mustering the tiny bit of dignity she had left: "What if I need to call someone in case of an emergency?"

He pulled something out of his other pocket and pressed it into the palm of her hand. She looked down to see her mom's old mobile. For a second, she wanted to throw it to the ground and crush it under her foot.

"I don’t want you contacting her, I’m sorry." Just by looking at her father's face she could see the sympathy and determination in his eyes. "I also expect you to come home right after school every day, okay?”

Blake gritted her teeth and pocketed the phone. Then she said soundlessly: ".. I'll be late for school."

Her father nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “There are other girls out there.” She could feel herself tensing up and shook his hand off, almost tripping over her own two feet in her eagerness to leave. 

The car drive to school consisted of holding back tears, nearly running a few red lights and trying to comprehend everything her father had said. She usually really wasn't one to cry easily but the situation back there had done a number on her nerves and undermined her intention of not letting it get to her.

Being outed to the entire school obviously had been a shock and for the first two weeks she felt horrible, but it was nothing compared to _this_. People had moved on to more interesting subjects rather quickly, especially since there were already a bunch of other students openly apart of the LGBT+ community. Yang had pretty much prepared the ground for anyone else; after she had publicly come out two years ago and dated boys and girls ever since, more and more people had had the courage to come out. It wasn't a rarity anymore, and her case had only been so interesting to them because it was Yang who she was with. Now it simply wasn't a big deal anymore. 

But this was another bad situation. Her dad wasn't homophobic, but apparently determined to... Well, what were they actually trying to do? Forbid her to be around anyone with a record and a past? Make her forget about her feelings for Yang by keeping her away?

God, just thinking about Yang now made her breath hitch in her throat. She was probably already confused because she hadn't replied to any of her texts. What would she think if she started avoiding her at school now?

Blake had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even realized she’d already arrived; in fact she had already been parked in front of the building for several minutes when a knock on her window nearly made her jump out of her skin. 

Standing outside was Weiss, smiling at her. She reluctantly got out of the car, locking it behind her. The happy expression on her face faltered as soon as she got a good look at her. "Blake, what happened?"

"My parents," Blake murmured weakly. "They know. My dad just isn't happy for an entirely different reason.”

Weiss didn't ask any further, instead she suddenly pulled her into a hug. "Do you..want to talk about it?"

"The video was sent to them. Apparently, Nebula is a _friend_ and will keep an eye on me for them," She muttered. "Dad just..doesn't trust Yang and wants me to stay away from her.”

"He’ll change his tune once he gets to know her," Weiss said. "And forget Nebula. I swear, if I get a hold of that cretin I'll rip out every false lash one by one-“

Blake smiled faintly at that. "I would actually pay to see that."

Weiss let go of her, obviously relieved that she had managed to cheer her up at least a little. "If you ever want to come over or spent a night at mine, you know you can."

"Thank you," Blake nodded, touched by the offer. "But... that doesn't bother you? You aren't worried about them treating you different for protecting Yang? I know how hard it was-” 

Now she looked at her with a frown. "Are you stupid?”

"I'm serious, I don’t want them to get the wrong idea because you’re a Schnee.”

"Blake, I’m not concerned about that because I know I’m right about it," She groaned. ”..I trust Yang. There would be nothing for me to worry about.”

”Yeah..okay.”

Weiss smiled and pointed at the school entrance. "So, are you done stalling?”

"No," She said, but followed her up the stairs anyway.

As soon as she entered, she spotted Yang standing by her locker. Her heart dropped at the sight of her; she was still looking a little sleepy, with her hair tousled and bangs hanging into her eyes. Her gaze drifted down to slightly parted lips.

The desire to kiss her was nearly enough to make her walk right over to her, but then she saw Nebula standing at the end of the hallway. Her smile was all teeth as she saw her staring at the blonde. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head slightly, still grinning. 

Blake swallowed down her anger and quickly looked down. From the corner of her eye, she saw Yang staring at her with a confused look on her face as she walked right past her.

Weiss’ hand on her shoulder was somewhat comforting, but she had the suspicion that part of why she had placed it there was to keep her from jumping Nebula when they neared her. Instead of stepping away to let them pass, she crossed her arms and deliberately blocked their path. 

"Move," Blake hissed, anger seeping into her voice.

She smiled innocently up at her. "Blake..Is that really the way to speak to me?" Twirling a strand of her indigo hair, she leaned forward. "That's probably not the smartest idea. Don’t make me call your daddy.”

Blake gritted her teeth and dug her fingernails into her palms to hold herself back from strangling her on the spot. 

She laughed and got even closer, trailing a finger down her cheek. "And if it isn't me, then it’ll be Adam.”

Weiss scoffed loudly behind her, but she didn't pay any attention to her. 

Her body went rigid under her touch as she suddenly pressed a sticky kiss to her cheek. 

Disgust welled up inside of her, but she was determined to hold her ground. She could try and take Yang away; She wouldn't give her dignity away too. "I don’t know what you’re trying to do," She said, making a vague gesture at them both. "But I doubt Yang’ll believe it.”

Nebula looked over her shoulder and grinned contently. "Of course not. But it still seems to sting a little..." She faked a pout. "Aw, she's looking at you like a kicked little puppy faunas. Don't you want to go over there? Comfort her a little?" 

She reached out and pried her hands off, aware that her fingers were shaking from so much pent-up anger. "I swear to God-”

Nebula sighed theatrically and shrugged. "Looks like I’ll have to do it then." 

With that, she stalked off and walked right up to Yang. She looked at her and gesticulated wildly, looking not only utterly confused but angry too. Nebula only smiled sweetly.

Weiss tugged at her sleeve. "Blake, don't do that to yourself. Let's just go..."

Without looking back, she nodded and followed her to their next class. Still, the image of the hurt look on Yang’s face seemed to be etched into her brain for the rest of the day, not leaving her thoughts for even a second.

+++

The rest of the week went by exactly the same. Blake suffered through long school days, came home, and hid in her room for the rest of the day, drawing, reading and listening to music. On some days she worked at the Cafe, doing her job, but not even that was enough of a distraction. Whatever she was doing, in the end she always ended up thinking about Yang.

Avoiding her got harder every day. She seemed to be behind every corner, waiting for her after class, standing near her locker. She was dying to explain her behavior to her, but every time Nebula seemed to appear out of nowhere, smirking provocatively at her. She was doing her best to follow her at every turn, even making sure that Weiss didn't go near Yang either. The day after the confrontation with her parents, she had also claimed the seat next to Yang in Biology, so she couldn't even be near her then. 

Of course she didn't only want to talk to her about _that_. There were a million other things she wanted to tell her about. Before, she hadn't even noticed how much time she actually spent speaking to her, via text or in real life. By now she would have given anything just to have a normal conversation with her.

Whenever she saw her, she swore her thoughts always reverted back to when they kissed; her breath on her neck, her hands in her hair. During the day, she honestly couldn't stop thinking about touching her, at night, the dreams of her were haunting.

Every time she saw Yang in the waking world, her heart seemed to contract itself to the size of a walnut, hurting in her chest. The look on her face when she walked past her, pretending not to take any notice of her at all, was even worse. At first she had seemed confused, then worried, then hurt. Now she couldn't read any emotion on her face at all.

Blake hated it with a passion. She hated not being able to reassure her, she hated that the person keeping her ”out of harm’s way” had to be Nebula, of all people. She hated that she was so helpless, so pathetic. She hated how Yang looked at her like she was a stone’s throw away from regret.

She felt like her dad was keeping track of her every move. Sometime this week she had simply stopped talking to him. He’d tell her how much he loved her everyday but she wasn't hearing it. She couldn't help but to be upset.

Weiss, Sun and Velvet were the only ones who knew the reason for her sudden distancing from Yang, but apparently there were others who wanted to know. Pyrrha and Nora, for example, who were sitting next to her in the cafeteria right now. 

"Blake, what is this really about?" Pyrrha asked, eyeing her appraisingly. She could tell that she was worried.

She dropped her head and continued to pick at her food with her fork. She hadn't really eaten much for the past few days. "Does Yang want to know that?"

"Of course she does!" Nora exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Why wouldn't she want to know why you’re suddenly acting like she ran over your dog?”

"Nora, go easy on her," Pyrrha muttered from beside her. Then she nudged Blake’s elbow. "Blake, at least eat a little."

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't. Not while she felt Yang’s eyes on the back of her neck from across the hall. She dropped the fork onto the plate and pushed it away. 

Weiss sighed, looking even more concerned now. She had barely left her side all day. 

"Do you want me to get you something else?" Sun now asked. He looked equally as worried, but at least tried to smile encouragingly at her. 

She shook her head and muttered: "Thanks, Sun, but I'm not really hungry."

Everyone fell silent again, but she could see them all exchanging a long glance. 

Then she finally said: "I can't talk to her, okay? God, you have no idea how much I want to."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

Blake looked over at Nebula, not even remotely surprised that she was watching her from the other side of the room. "Adam sent my parents the video, you know which one. Long story short, my dad doesn't really trust Yang. He basically sees Nebula as a friend, to inform him whenever she sees me with Yang. He seems deadset on believing that she isnt a good person. That I’m being used or something, I don’t know." She swallowed hard, feeling her stomach turn upside down. "I, um, he mentioned something about a record and the Branwen clan.”

When Blake finally looked up, she saw that their faces were just as shocked as Sun had been the first time she had told him. He’d understand better than anyone, considering the speech he got from her dad before. Luckily for Sun then, he had a clean record. "Unfortunately this isn't the first time she got pegged out to be a bad person...”

“Yeah. She used to be really reckless. Maybe she didn’t care about her relationships, I’m sure she pissed off a lot of people’s parents, but she isn't like that anymore..” Nora added.

She frowned before continuing with her tangent. ”And the clan thing? She’s not even really a Branwen, besides biologically. Look, she needed a favor and you don’t just go around asking Branwens for favors...unless you _are_ one.”

Weiss raised a concerned brow. ”So you’re saying Yang’s mother is Raven _Branwen? That_ Raven _?_ And she’s apart of the same clan that literally joked about threatening to kidnap me before I could even _walk_?”

”It isn't like that, Weiss...” Pyrrha softly uttered. ”She _had_ to join them. She hated it, and she can’t really leave unless you want Yang to get seriously hurt.”

”And that makes it all the more complicated, I’m sorry.” Nora cringed, shaking her head.

"It's fine," Blake muttered tonelessly.

"No, it's not," they all said in unison. 

"Can I talk to Yang?" Pyrrha asked. "I think it'd help. She really thinks that this is her fault and that she did something wrong..I don’t want her to close herself off again.”

Blake nodded. "Yes, please tell her. And tell her that I-"

"You're not telling her anything," a sharp voice suddenly cut in. They all looked up to see Nebula standing right behind Weiss, who looked like she was about to get up and scratch her eyes out. "If I see that you, or any of your friends talk to Yang, I will go straight to Blake’s parents and tell them about the Dust I found you both snorting. I'm sure they won't be delighted to hear that."

She never did a drug in her life. Yang _did_ hang around some people who smoked but she wasn't some druggie. All it did was piss her off further. She wouldn't put it past her or Adam to set her up.

Nora’s hands were clinging tightly to the edge of the table in barely contained anger. "What is your problem?" she spat. "You do realize that you're hurting Yang too, don't you? Isn't she, like, the love of your fucking life?”

Nebula shrugged. "Sometimes you have to break a few eggs. In the end it’ll all be worth it. Give her three, maybe four more days and she'll be just fine. She’ll realize that Blake isn't anything special. And that will be the moment she'll come running back to me, because boo-hoo, I’ll be the only one who came back. She’ll have to be tired of peopling _leaving_ her eventually right?”

Nora shot up from her seat at that last sentence, her blue eyes looked like she was figuring out where to bury the body. “Don’t you fucking dare! You don’t know what that girl has been through.” She growled. 

Meanwhile Pyrrha, who was much taller, grabbed her, making her sit back down. “She isn't worth it. You and Yang can’t get into any more fights, remember?”

"You sound psychotic," Weiss said dryly. "Where did you get that speech from? A movie?”

Nebula didn't seem impressed at all, instead she pointed at them with a carefully manicured finger. "Joke all you want. You won't be laughing anymore when you'll see me going to prom with Yang.”

Before any of them could reply, she turned on her heel and marched off. Once she was out of earshot, Pyrrha carefully asked: "So... should I still risk it and tell Yang?"

"I don't know," Blake said, horrified just thinking about not seeing Yang again. "Maybe... text her about everything and make sure no one sees it.”

She squeezed her hand before she got up and straightened her skirt. "Alright. If there's anything I can do, tell me."

Blake nodded wordlessly and smiled weakly at her. 

A few minutes later, she left the cafeteria and her friends behind to get her stuff out of her locker. Rubbing a hand over her eyes wearily, she grabbed her books and headed towards the classroom. 

She was almost there when there suddenly was a hand grabbing her sleeve and pulling her inside another room. A quiet gasp slipped past her lips as she was turned around.

"Alright, so..." Yang said sternly, eyes blazing with a mix of emotions that she couldn't decipher. "What the fuck is going on?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake, the definition of ride or die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which one is Bonnie...which one is Clyde...yOu dEciDe
> 
> Also remember this is just for fun guys..don’t take the story too seriously lol

For a moment, all Blake could do was stare at her while she was patiently waiting for an answer. She had thought about her so many times this week that it felt surreal to suddenly be this close to her in real life. 

Just like Blake, she looked like she hadn't slept much (which actually wasn't that unusual, but was still worrying), but her lilac eyes were alert as she watched her carefully. Strands of hair were falling into her face, making her fingers itch with the urge to push it out of her eyes.

But she kept her hands to herself. She tore her eyes away from her face and made a move to push past her, just to get held back by her hands pushing her back against the wall.

To hinder her from trying to walk away again, she stepped closer this time, until she was mere inches away.

Blake swallowed and looked down at her shoes, which Yang was having none of, clasping her chin with one hand, tilting it upwards so she could meet her eye.

It was the first actual physical contact they had made in a week. Enough to make her heart stutter.

"Blake, talk to me please," she said, sounding strangely desperate. 

She was so busy staring at her lips, that it took her a moment to register her words. They immediately snapped her out of her daze and, suddenly becoming aware of the situation, she grasped her wrist and made her let go of her. Her voice was hardly more than a whisper as she said: "I can't... Yang, you need to let me leave. I can't be here."

"You mean you can't be here _with me_?" Yang asked. "I won't let you leave until you’re at least straight up with me.”

She winced at the hurt behind her words.

Yang looked her dead in the eye as she added: "You can't just completely ignore me for days without telling me what I did wrong..”

Feeling a pang of guilt, Blake closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Which she immediately regretted as she inhaled the scent of her; citrus, leather, a hint of lavender. It was painfully familiar. 

Everything about her was, yet right now it felt like she was talking to a stranger. Yang had never talked to her in that voice. She had never sounded hurt or disappointed before.

"You didn't do anything wrong, " Blake said quietly.

"Then why don't you want to see me anymore?" She inquired.

It was the genuine hurt in her eyes that broke her. "My parents found out," She breathed. "They saw the video of us in that club. Adam sent it to them. My dad decided you aren't any good for me and Nebula basically took it upon herself to watch out for me and tell him if I'm with you. If Nebula finds out, I'm sure I won’t be seeing you again. She’ll lie or something..I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”

Yang’s expression had turned progressively darker throughout her explanation. "I’m not..That fucking-" She took a deep breath to calm herself down, but she could see her jaw working. "I should've known that they were behind all of this. The way Nebula was clinging to me all week... But why didn't you send Weiss to tell me or something?" She implored, looking at her questioningly. 

"She had an eye out for her, too. If she would've approached you, she would've known what it was about."

Yang nodded slowly. "Okay. So, what now?"

She swallowed and studied her features. The small space between their bodies felt like miles and all she wanted to do was to pull her into a kiss. But she didn't dare, not yet. She felt like Yang had every right to be upset with her for following her dad’s orders. Still, she only wanted to protect Yang. "I don't know," Blake replied honestly. "But.. I don't want to lose this...”

Yang almost smiled and said: "Me neither.”

They had just naturally went into exclusivity even though they weren't really dating. Yang could’ve talked to other people, even hooked up with them like she used to. It’s not like it’d be cheating..but that also wouldn't stop it from hurting. She had to ask.

”What.. _is_ this, even?”

Yang stared at her quizzically before presumably catching on, biting her lip in thought. ”I..um, what do you _want_ it to be?”

”I just don’t want to get burned in the end.”

She nodded. ”I understand. Just know that I get a shitload of texts but I haven't even opened them. Wanna see?”

Blake smiled. ”How modern...I believe you.”

”Don’t tell anyone that, though. I _do_ have a reputation to uphold.” The blonde muttered, shrugging. 

Blake had a feeling that she was quite the pro at hiding behind humor. She’d just admitted to being vulnerable, and judging by the glimmer in Yang’s eyes she was just as scared.

”Anyway...” Yang continued. ”Are you up for some hide and seek then?”

Laughing felt strange after a week of not smiling once. "We'd have to be careful."

She nodded, eyes suddenly sparkling again. ”On the plus side, sneaking around _does_ sound kind of hot.”

Yang made her want to lock herself in her room and paint her with every little detail, just to catch the expression, to preserve the look of relief and unrestrained happiness in them. She was so focused on them, that she didn't even realize she was leaning in until her lips met hers.

Her eyes immediately fluttered shut as her hands clung onto her neck, every cell of her body screaming for more. She had no idea how she had endured seven days without this. It was like tasting euphoria again after a week of withdrawal. Blake was an addict.

Yang’s hands fell to her waist, her lips traveled from neck to her jawline, then back to her lips. Blake let out a pleased sigh before cupping her face in her hands.

She kissed her until her lungs begged her to stop, still holding onto her, not willing to let go anytime soon. 

"I missed you," Yang breathed out, eyes still shut. 

"I'm sorry," She muttered back.

Yang’s eyes snapped open. "Don't apologize. It isn’t your fault. It's Nebula’s and Adam’s... And mine, because I suppose I can’t blame your dad completely. I haven't been the best person, Blake.”

Glaring at her, she backed away just a little. ”Stop talking like an idiot." As she stared at her blankly, she groaned: "Yang, you never forced me into anything, I wanted to be with you. I’ve had fun with you, it was all my choice. I don’t care what you did before me, how many times do I have to say that? Sooner or later, they would’ve found out about all the partying anyway.”

Yang still looked utterly confused. "Pyrrha never told you, did she?”

”About the Branwen clan? Yeah...”

Yang’s expression darkened again, a rainstorm clouded her features. ”Not just that. So I, um...” She took a moment to breathe. “Like I said, my real mom is locked up and I was pretty much heading down the same path, you know? I used to get just..absolutely trashed all time. Weed, alcohol, the works.”

Blake frowned, nodding for her to continue. 

“I got into a fight. Like, a really really bad fight with an ex. We were both hammered but he put his hands on me because...anyway he hit me and I saw red. I put him in the hospital.”

Yang paused, gauging her reaction and looking terrified of it at the same time. 

Blake was a bit taken aback from it but she still put a hand on her shoulder. “It was self-defense, right?”

She nodded. “Of course, but I- Still. I could’ve killed him...When I visited Raven, she had the nerve to say that if I ever got locked up that I’d be protected on the inside at least. Because ’I’m a _Branwen_ , and you can’t run away from the blood in your veins’. That kinda shook me up. Your dad probably just sees some reckless hot head with no respect for authority figures, a mini Raven, and honestly? He’d be right. Plus, the whole relationship thing isn't really my forte either. He has a point, Blake.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Yeah, whatever. You can ask anyone. It’s always fighting or fucking.”

“I meant that I don’t believe that you’re a bad person. And how is it always fighting or fucking if we’ve done neither? You’re obviously capable of acting right.”

“Honestly, Blake, that doesn't mean that I didn't want to because I did. The other day..I was close to just giving in to what I wanted and that isn't okay-“

“There you go again. Listen, it was _my_ choice. I wanted it too. _I_ was the one trying to take your pants off.”

Yang let out a huff of a laugh, smiling weakly. 

Blake smiled back.

“So you don’t care? About any of it?”

“No...” Blake trailed off, watching Yang bend down to take her foot halfway out her shoe. She rolled her sock down, revealing a small symbol etched right above her ankle.

“Not even the clan?”

The tattoo was a black gear with a bird’s wing bordering the sides. The art itself was beautiful, but the implications were not.

She never noticed that at the lake, but she could imagine that Yang wasn't very keen on drawing attention to it.

"No, your past doesn't define you. And you haven't given me a reason to care.” Yang smiled softly at that as she put her shoe back on. “As long as we’re together, I'll manage...Baggage or not, I just want _you._ " She said softly, even though it sounded cheesy, and finally pushed the stray strands of hair out of her eyes. 

Yang caught her hand in the process and brought it to her mouth, lightly brushing her lips against her knuckles. "Then you have me...You don't have to worry. If you want to try, then I’ll try too. I'm not planning on letting you go that easily.”

Blake laughed quietly. "We really _are_ corny today, huh?"

Yang smiled a little, looking down. "I think we deserve a bit of cheesiness after this week." When she looked back up, her face was serious again. "Just know that..anything regarding Raven; I only do what I have to do. Not what I _want_. You won’t have to worry about that. You also don’t need to worry about protecting me, if I get in trouble then I get in trouble- not talking to you is torture.”

Blake thought of their conversations and exhaled. She trusted Yang, but she wasn't hazarding the chance of her reputation being further diminished. She shook her head. "I trust you, but I’m not taking any risks either. Like I said, we’ll just have to be careful.”

Yang looked convinced enough and also incredibly relieved. She leaned down to kiss her once more. When she broke away again she said: "We should get outta here. I'll find a way to get in touch with you and then we'll find a way to meet again. Alright?"

"Yeah," She said, even though she would've liked to stay here like this forever. "I'll go first?"

She nodded before she suddenly pulled Blake into a hug. For a second, she was frozen in surprise, then she buried her face in the crook of her neck and wrapped her arms around her. As strange as it was, they had really only hugged once before, after a panic attack. Just like then, the gesture was almost startlingly comforting, Yang’s chin resting on her head and her hands protectively splayed against her back.

"Be careful, okay? I don't want us to stop seeing each other," Yang muttered.

Blake nodded and reluctantly let go of her. Then she opened the door and stepped out into the corridor, not looking around to avoid seeming suspicious. Adam was leaning against the lockers at the end of the hallway, smirking at her. She suppressed a triumphant grin and shot him a cold glare instead. 

When she hurried away from the room and Yang, she was pleased to see that he was following her. Good. He wouldn't notice Yang leaving the same room in a few minutes.

She almost couldn't believe how quickly things have changed. When Yang brought her into that room, she had been devastated. Now, Blake almost felt fine again, better than she had all week. A few mere minutes with her had been enough to lift her spirts somewhat. 

That was all she needed.

++

Two days later, Yang still hadn't talked to her and she was starting to go back to being on edge and easily stressed out. Her parents were still trying to be supportive, though the only annoyed her; her father being the one the caused it after all. Meanwhile, Kali just thinks that her husband will give up eventually and leave everything alone, hearing more and more about Yang’s actions and hoping with every fibre of her being that Blake’s judgement is correct.

Every time she came home after school, she was fuming on the inside, but decided against letting it all out so she saved all her frustration for the confines of her own room. 

Knowing that Yang knew why she was acting so strange helped though, since she didn't have to worry about her being hurt or angry..or regretful. Yang opened up to her and she couldn't betray that.

Still, every time she saw her around school, her heart skipped a beat. Occasionally, she would smile at her when she walked past. Once, Yang had brushed her hand against hers when she walked to her seat in Biology, making her hand tingle for the rest of class. They may have not been sitting next to each other anymore, but just being in the same room as her was enough right now.

The only place where Adam couldn't follow her, was the girl’s locker room before Gym and the restroom, which she would incredibly grateful for if it weren't for one person. Nebula would linger, so Blake didn't dare to talk to Yang. Either way, they’d tell each other since the two of them had been hanging around each other a lot during the last few weeks.

Blake jumped when two fingers unexpectedly snapped right in front of her face. When she looked up, she saw Velvet fondly rolling her eyes at her. "Sorry! I know you’re dreaming of Yang, but you have some drinks to make.”

"Right," She muttered, feeling her cheeks heating up, and got to work. 

While she scooped ice into a glass, Velvet implored: "Have you been able to talk it out with her?”

The feline faunas nodded. "Yes, I told her everything. I think we're good...for now."

"Have you guys started hanging out again?"

"Not really, we can't. They’re still following me everywhere and Nebula likes to whisper threats into my ear in passing," She said, rolling her eyes.

Velvet’s expression darkened. She never liked her. Whenever Nebula dared to come there, Velvet would take over and refused to let her near her. Even Ozma, after somehow hearing what had happened, had told Blake that he was extremely tempted to ban her from the shop. 

"Do you think it'd be acceptable for me to spit into her coffee the next time she walks in here?" she mused while handing a customer his order. The poor man looked petrified, but Velvet only smiled sweetly at him. 

"Sounds reasonable to me," Blake laughed and pushed the Iced Americano over the counter to a guy in his twenties. He was wearing a leather jacket that immediately reminded her of Yang. "Here you go."

He thanked her and smiled, probably attempting to look charming, but only achieving to look like he had gotten something in his eye. When he handed Blake the money, there was a little piece of paper between the banknotes. She raised a brow when she saw that there was a hastily scribbled phone number along with a smiley face right next it.

When she glanced back up, the guy was looking at her in anticipation. She smiled uncomfortably and said: "Sorry...I have a girlfriend." Technically that was a lie, since they weren't actually official, but she didn't know what else to say.

The guy’s cheeks flushed bright red and she muttered something under his breath before he turned around and practically stormed out of the store.

Next to her, Velvet started giggling.

She glared at her and made sure to good-naturedly bump into her when she walked over to the coffee machine to prepare the next order. "Well, what was I supposed to say? I never know what to say when that happens."

Velvet nodded. "We should make this a drinking game. One coffee shot every time a guy asks for your number."

"There were two girls too," She recalled, grimacing at the memory. "But still, you got hit on plenty of times as well."

"Maybe," Velvet said, grinning. "Luckily though, a lot of them stopped after Coco came in.”

Blake snickered, but the sound died in her throat as she saw who had just entered. 

Yang was looking around the shop, before she flashed a white smile and walked up to her, hands in her pockets. 

”Your gay is showing.”

Against her will, Blake had to grin as she scanned her face. "I know."

Yang, who hadn't heard their conversation, propped her elbow on the counter and said, barely containing her laughter: "Hey, I'd like to order a...”

Blake blinked at her in confusion. "A what?"

" _Blake_ coffee _,_ " she said, cracking up laughing about her own bad pun.

Velvet chuckled, then pushed her out of the way as Blake walked towards the machine to work on her order. "I'll handle it, you go spend time with Yang.”

"Thanks Velv, I owe you one," Blake grinned, pulling her into a quick side hug.

When she turned back around, she caught Yang still staring at her, eyes suspiciously drifting back up. Yang didn't even bother to look away and act embarrassed as she raised a brow at her. 

”Were you just staring at my ass?”

”Listen, that’s neither here nor there.”

Rolling her eyes, Blake walked around the counter so she could properly greet her. As soon as she was within reach, Yang hooked two fingers into the collar of her shirt and pulled her into a kiss. 

She pushed away the thought that there were at least a dozen people in the shop who could see them and focused on kissing her back instead.

Yang grinned happily when she brushed a few dark curls out of her face and pecked her cheek once more before letting go of her. "How are you?" She could tell that the question wasn't just out of courtesy.

"I'm fine," Blake asserted. For the first time today, she meant it.

The blonde nodded and whispered: "I’m surprised you kissed me back. There are like twenty people weirdly watching us."

"I missed you," She said with a shrug. "What have you been up to this week?"

"The usual," Yang confessed vaguely.

"Drinking? Fighting? Taking your bike for a joyride? Blazing with Ren? Hooking up with people?”

She shook her head. "No. As in not being able to concentrate on anything because I was thinking of you..as in annoying Pyrrha, Nora and Coco because I won’t shut up about you. The usual.”

Blake narrowed her eyes at her. "Liar."

Yang held a dramatic hand to her chest, feigning offense. "I’m telling the truth! I mean, okay, I may have done a couple of other things too... But definitely not other _people_ , if that's what you're worried about."

"Why would I care who you have sex with?" She mumbled in reply, trying to seem unaffected.

Yang wasn't impressed. "You do. Who wouldn't care about a cheating girlfriend?”

Her eyes were probably the size of saucers as she glanced at her in awe. "Did you just call yourself my _girlfriend_?”

On Yang’s face, was a mixture of amusement, apprehension and confusion as she said: "Yeah...? I guess I did. Even if I don’t really claim people, I thought maybe it’d be okay for once. But... You know, if you're not comfortable with that, just forget I said anything-"

"Oh my god, _shut up_ ," Blake breathed before cupping her face and bringing her lips to hers. 

She could feel Yang smiling against her lips as she wrapped her arms around her torso and nearly lifted her off her feet. 

It wasn't until someone cleared their throat behind them, that they let go of each other.

Yang turned around with a questioning look. Behind them stood a man in cargo shorts and a shirt in the same color, with a little girl in his arms who appeared to be around five. Next to him was his wife, a tall blonde with a strict ponytail and a sour expression. 

"Take that somewhere else," the man demanded. "No offense, but I didn't come here with my family to see two horny teenagers snogging!"

Yang demonstratively wrapped an arm around her shoulder and spoke calmly, although Blake didn't fail to see her irises shift to crimson. " _Full_ offense; I didn't come here with my _girlfriend_ to be bothered by an ignorant old boomer with a receding hairline.”

Blake failed to stifle her laugh upon witnessing the man's face turning a bright shade of red. She also failed to keep her cheeks from heating up at the word _girlfriend_. It sounded right. It _felt_ right.

"Why do you gays and lesbians always feel the need to make out in public for everyone to see?" the woman snarled.

"I'm pansexual, actually," Yang corrected her, shrugging.

"Tsk. So you can't even decide?"

"No," she replied impatiently. "It’s not about not being able to decide. It’s that I don’t _care_. I’m just into _people_." She looked over at Blake and grinned. "Especially _this_ person."

Blake couldn't suppress her small grin and squeezed her hand in return. 

"And I think that anyone who isn’t blind can see that there are way more hetero people showing affection in public than any LGBT. You aren't being oppressed. Analyze that argument and come back when you have a better one. Or do us all a favor and don’t come back at all," Yang continued.

Probably wanting to stress that the image of two girls kissing would forever scar the child's memory, the man said: "My daughter--”

"--should learn about things like that as early as possible so that she doesn't turn out to be an intolerant asshole like her parents." Yang smiled innocently at the family. ”What she sees literally won’t affect her in any way. You can’t _make_ someone gay. It isn't a choice you slimy motherfucker.”

In lack of anything clever to respond with, the man huffed angrily and turned around on his heel, dragging his wife with him.

For a second, Blake was so awestruck that all she could do was stare at her. 

Velvet suddenly appeared right next to them with a huge smile on her face. "Coco would’ve absolutely loved that.” she said. An abrupt voice sounded through the phone she had in her hand. _”I would and I did. I heard it all. Hah, I fucking love you Yang.”_

Blake giggled and wrapped her arms around the blonde’s middle possessively, even though she couldn't see. "Back off, she's mine."

Coco chuckled, followed by a noise that vaguely sounded like a finger snap. _“Damn. How unfortunate.”_

Yang laughed with her and freed one of her arms to rest them on her back, leaning towards the phone. "You heard her, C. The wedding’s off.”

As Coco began to speak again, Velvet quickly turned around; phone to her ear as Coco muttered something that Blake _absolutely_ heard anyway. _“I’m honestly surprised they haven't fucked yet, because Yang is already whipped.”_

“Coco...”

Meanwhile, Yang looked at her phone and sighed. "I gotta go, I'm meeting Nora in twenty minutes. I'll talk to you later.”

"Uh, how?”

Yang grinned. "We'll do it the old-fashioned way."

Before she could ask what she was talking about, Yang swiftly hugged her and pressed a kiss atop her head before leaving, not without taking the cup of coffee Velvet had fixed for her with her.

+++

The following two hours went by in a blur of making and serving coffee, chatting with customers and “talking about girlfriends” with Velvet.

Blake felt like walking on clouds; Yang’s visit, as short as it had been, had brightened her mood significantly. Talking to her seemed to be the only thing of importance this week, while the remaining time had been drenched in annoyance a boredom.

At seven in the evening, she said her goodbyes to Velvet and Ozma and drove home.

She took a deep breath before unlocking the front door. She was trying to get used to the quiet. There would always be smiles and warm hellos when she came home, the _How was your day?_ or _Dinner is ready_. She openly expressed her annoyance with them, so they give her time to calm down and ultimately leave her alone when asked, but never stopped saying _I love you_.

Over the past few days, she had pretty much taken care of herself with no help, out of spite. She tried to be as invisible as possible, to the extent that she got up an hour earlier in the morning so that she could leave before her dad woke up. She didnt want to talk- or hear any apologies. It was unbelievable how little you could interact with someone who lived a few rooms down the hall.

That's why she was all the more surprised, when her mom came towards her once she entered the hallway and closed the door behind her.

She was tempted to just leave her standing there and bolt right up the stairs to her room, she decided against it. After she slipped out of her shoes and rid herself of her jacket, she just stood there, raising a brow at her.

The silence was weighing heavy on her chest as she glanced at her without saying a word. Then, finally, she crossed the small distance between them and put a comforting hand to her cheek. 

Blake reminded herself that this was her mom, not her dad. These were the same hands that had held her when she had cried in kindergarten, put band-aids on her knees when she’d fallen from her bike in elementary school, and helped style her hair before her first date in middle school, back then Ghira had been the same overprotective dad giving her a whole speech about dates...

Regardless, these were the hands that were still familiar and gentle and only wanted what was best for her.

Her voice was quiet and soft when she said: "I'm _am_ sorry, Blake. For how your father handled things. I’ve been talking to him.”

She didn't expect to hear that today. She nodded, incredulous and relieved. Maybe there was some hope.

"He told me about Yang and he actually showed me her record online," Her mom suddenly continued in the same gentle voice. "I _do_ worry, and you haven't known her for long...”

Her words felt like a punch in the stomach. Was she saying she _IS_ taking his side then? Blake automatically moved a few steps back, her hand dropped down limply. "But it doesn't _feel_ like that, mom. It feels like I’ve known her forever." It was impossible, maybe not even a valid excuse but dammit, it was the truth. She didn't know how to explain it.

Kali glanced at her, a soft look in her eyes. “I understand. I’ll trust your judgement. I just hope that you know what you’re doing, sweetie. I’d hate for you to be in harm’s way.”

"Mom, when will dad see that you can't judge someone’s character over a couple of words? Just because-“

“I know, baby. But I’ve been your age too once and the heartbreakers always got what they wanted, sound familiar..? I was into the bad crowd too, you know.” Kali chuckled. “The lifestyle was addicting and they’d be everything you’d ever wanted until they ultimately get what they want after, they get bored and move onto the next. People who dealt with them at my old school always got hurt in some way, either heartbroken or in trouble with the law. Just don’t get deceived.”

_Addicting_. That was a familiar word that she often associated with Yang. She _hoped_ she wouldn't get her heart broken in the end. Especially now that they they’re dating, and there’s more on the line.

"We are Belladonna women, though.” She continued. “You remember what a Belladonna is, right? A delicate flower, that needs to be treated right...but it’s beautiful _and_ deadly. If she breaks your heart, _Yang_ better be the one to watch out.”

Blake snorted, not expecting that.

Ghira came down the stairs just in that instant, eyeing Blake with an uncertain look. "And a Belladonna deserves the best, Blake." he declared and wrapped an arm around her mom's shoulders. "Your mother made sure to remind me of that when we first met. She didn't have me at my best, though. I was a member of the White Fangs. I’ve seen it all. I know of that life...and when I first saw your little face after I got arrested, I promised that I’d never let anything happen to my cub. That includes being anywhere near that lifestyle.”

Blake sighed. ”Yang isn't like-” Before she could finish, her and Kali’s ears flicked at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

She turned around to her parents questioning. Kali just shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen, while her dad's lips twisted into a small smile. ”Oh! We have a guest over for dinner tonight."

She huffed, but didn't try to object as she began to walk towards to the kitchen to help her mom.

Half-way there, she heard a voice at the door that made her freeze in her tracks. 

"How are you, I know it’s hard being there by yourself. I hope Orion is doing okay, the job isn't the same without him.”

"Thank you, Mr. Belladonna, dad is doing better,” Nebula chirped in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I’m just glad I don’t have to eat takeout again today. Oh, hi Blake!”

Blake gritted her teeth as she walked closer. Nebula was standing by the door, next to her dad, and smirked at her as she saw her. She was probably wearing the less revealing clothes she had ever seen on her; jeans and a long-armed indigo turtle-neck, making her look much more mature, which was probably what she had been aiming for.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not even trying to sound friendly. 

"She will be dining with us tonight. Her father wasn't doing too good, we’ve been talking on the phone and we have to take care of our own," Ghira answered with a polite smile. ”You know Orion is a good friend of mine.”

"...Fine, do whatever you want. I'll be in my room." She wanted to say more, but it was pointless.

He shook his head and frowned at her. "No, honey. You know better than that, come sit and be nice.”

Nebula grinned widely. This had to be her absolute dream come true: manipulating her parents, who absolutely adored her, unable to do anything about it. She was intruding in her _home_ , her personal life, and she was in a position where she could do nothing about it. 

"Alright then, dinner should be ready by now. Come on into the kitchen.” Ghira grinned, waving them over.

Nebula thanked him with her never-ending nice smile and entered the kitchen before her, where Kali was currently dishing up steak and potatoes with rosemary. 

"Oh, hello there." Kali chimed happily and hugged her. ”Hopefully your father’s health hasn't been stressing you out too much?”

Blake looked away as Nebula wrapped her arms around her mother in turn, smirking at her over her shoulder. ”It really has, ma’m.”

The indigo-haired girl sat down at the table, helping set some dishes down as she did so. Blake swallowed down the bitter taste of anger along with all words of protest. Then she sunk into the chair right next to them.

Blake exhaled and helped herself to potatoes. 

Meanwhile, Ghira turned to Nebula. "So..anything interesting happen at school?”

Nebula looked over at her, clearly enjoying herself. Blake looked back coldly, even though her heart was racing. She couldn't know that we were talking again, could she? "Nope. But I believe that's just a matter of time. Beacon tends to get really..interesting.”

He turned to Blake. "Blake?”

”No.” She mumbled sharply. She was not in the mood for this.

She felt her grip around her fork tightening as she stared down at her plate, trying not to listen. 

"Are you okay, Blake?" Nebula sighed, faking sorrow. "Must be Yang again. It’s heartbreaking that you can't even see that someone like her will never stick around.”

"What do you mean?" Ghira asked worriedly.

"Well, it's not exactly a secret that Yang... has a bit of baggage. I don't think she'd even be able to stay with Blake, even if she wanted to. She has her fun before it gets too deep, then she’ll take the coward’s way out and move on to the next. No strings attached.”

Blake looked up only to glare at her. "You forgot about the fact that you practically throw yourself at her, huh?"

"Blake.. " Her dad called. "Why are you being rude? A few weeks ago you didn't talk like that."

"Maybe because a few weeks ago, I didn't have to listen to your stupid opinions on someone who you obviously know nothing about, besides on paper! What am I supposed to do, sit here and be happy or something?" She asked incredulously.

Ghira stared at her with a frown. "Well, of course I want you happy but I wish you’d see it from my perspective as well. Lots of people have the ”bad crush” phase but-”

Blake snorted and got up from the table. "Okay, yep, I'm done. If I have to listen to this for one more minute I’m going to say something that I’ll end up regretting.”

Ignoring her parents' protests, she walked out of the room and continued up the stairs, unexpectedly hearing another pair of feet come up behind her.

Turning around, she saw Nebula following her with a smug look on her face. "Wow. Is that how you always talk to your parents? They’re so nice.”

Blake was seriously tempted to push her down the stairs, but instead she said: "Not before you came here and pissed me off further.”

She shrugged. "It's not really my problem, is it? When I go home tonight, I won’t be seeing Yang...” She paused before breaking out into a fit of laughter. ”But neither are you, that’s the thing..and it’s really funny.”

For a second, Blake was rendered speechless at the amount of psychotic energy this girl radiated.

They had come to a halt at the top of the stairs during her reply. Now she shoved her aside and pushed past her, looking down the corridor, probably to find her room. When she didn't find it just by looking at the closed doors, she walked up to the very first door next to the stairs.

Blake immediately darted towards her and gripped her arm, dragging her away from the room. "Don't touch that door," She hissed.

Nebula rubbed her arm with a glare in her direction, but continued to strut down the corridor. Before she could stop her, she opened the door to her room, grinning victoriously as she entered.

The faunas groaned and followed her inside. 

"Wow, your room is even more boring than I had expected," she mumbled snidely. 

"And why would I care what you think about my room?" Blake snapped.

Nebula didn't reply, instead she began digging through the stuff on her desk. There were a few sketches and some school work, nothing interesting. Except for...

"What's this?" The emerald-eyed girl asked triumphantly as she held up the portrait of Yang she had drawn all those weeks ago, before they went to the club. That evening felt like it happened years ago. "Well, that is..." she said and suddenly ripped the picture in half without hesitation. "Really adorable."

Blake picked up the pieces she had dropped to the floor. Then, looking at her, she asked: "Seriously, why do you hate me so much?" she had intended to sound angry; instead she sounded like a kicked puppy. 

"Well...” She jabbed a finger in her direction. " _You_ are the reason why Yang dumped me overnight. And you didn't even have to do anything for it. Do you have _any idea_ how long it took until she so much as _looked_ at me?"

When Blake shook her head silently, she spat: "Months. It took _months_. Weeks until I had her phone number, but she never replied to any of my texts. Then, suddenly, on the field trip, she showed up at my tent at night. She wanted a _distraction_. Later, I found out what she meant by that." She laughed bitterly. "She didn't want to ruin your relationship with Sun, so she thought that I'd help her forget about you. For weeks, I was nothing but a replacement for _you_."

Blake raised a brow. "And how is any of that _my_ fault?"

Nebula placed her hand on her hip. "You would've noticed what was going on. You could've been thankful and continue to live happily ever after with Sun while I was with Yang."

"You realize it doesn't work like that..." She said quietly. "I would've never been able to be happy with Sun, not for long."

Unfortunately Nebula wasn't even listening to her. "I would visit Yang sometimes from then on. We would have our fun, then I’d be going home. I didn't mind until she started talking about you. Talked about how _pretty_ you were and how _smart_ and I don't know what else. I was never enough for her, not even then, all thanks to you."

Blake didn't know what to make of all this information. "...Why would you still be so obsessed with her after all of that?"

She took a deep breath, suddenly looking softer, younger than when she had that mask of hate on. "Because the few minutes she gave me were better than anything I've ever had with anyone before. Because to me, she was more than just a hookup. I thought maybe, after time, I could be more to her too." She looked back up at her. Her eyes had gone hard and cold again. "Apparently not. But don't worry, I'll teach her otherwise." 

Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and stormed out of her room, leaving her confused.

”Right, so you’re just fucking crazy. Got it.” Blake muttered to herself, rubbing a stressed hand against her temple. ”Got it...”


	27. Chapter 27

**Yang**

"Blake isn't here.”

"I know," Yang said, as she leaned across the counter. "Hey, can you fix me a Caramel Macchiato, one Chamomile.”

"Oh, I see," Velvet replied with a broad smile plastered across her face. "So you already know her favorite drink. Bonus points for you, huh?”

Yang grinned at her as she began to steam milk. 

"So are you two really official now?" She asked over her shoulder.

The blonde hesitated for a second. She and Blake hadn't really been able to _really_ talk about it yet, and she didn't know if she was comfortable with everything. She settled on being casual about it and said: "I think so."

Velvet raised a brow at her. "You _think_ so? What's that supposed to mean? Do you like her or not?"

"Obviously I do," She muttered. 

"The only question is: Are you up for something serious this time?"

She frowned slightly. Lately, everybody seemed to ask her that because apparently, everyone was worried that she would suddenly get scared and change her mind. She supposed that was fair.

Before she could answer, Velvet chimed in. "We all know you have kind of a... history of leaving people before a serious relationship can even begin. You won't do that, will you?"

"It'd be a little late for that now," Yang said honestly. "If this was only a temporary thing, I would've left after the first week of her not seeming interested. I wouldn't have stuck around long enough to help her with figuring out that she’s as straight as a rainbow, and I definitely wouldn't have limited everything that I had. This is different."

There was more she could've said; that their eyes always seemed to find each other in a room, that simply holding her hand felt better than anything else she’d experienced with all those before her. That she would gladly trade everyone else for a few minutes with her. That she could barely sleep at night, knowing that she was only a few houses down the road. 

Velvet smiled before putting on a serious expression. "Just don’t hurt this one, okay?”

She had to chuckle as she realized how overprotective of her she actually was. She, Coco, Fox and Yatsu are basically like big brothers and sisters to lots of people. The fact that her friend group accepted Blake so quick said a lot. "Since when have you guys adopted Blake?"

"Since we saw how good she is for you...maybe you’ll calm down a bit," Velvet answered and handed her the cup of Blake's lifeblood.

Yang rolled her eyes with a fond smile, and thanked her quietly. 

Once she was in the car, she handed the two cups to Nora, who she was taking to school with her today. 

"Why the sour face?" she asked worriedly as she studied her features.

Her friends were worried about her a lot these days. Since Nebula had started making Blake’s life a living hell, they apparently thought she was in desperate need of some emotional support. Which she was not; she was too busy thinking about the situation with Blake more than her own pathetic problems.

They had made great progress, and now all the shit she’s done came back to bite her in the ass. She hadn’t made the best decisions.

She unconsciously glanced down at her foot for a second, where the tattoo is. If the tables were turned, she probably wouldn't have let her daughter see her either. She was more or less the kid that parent’s would warn their own kids about, not the one to attempt to be in a serious relationship with.

At least she was still willing to see her after everything. After all, she somewhat felt like it was her fault.

"It's just..." Yang began, tiredly rubbing a hand over her eyes. "I'm worried about the thing with Blake. Sun told me that Nebula was at her house last night."

Nora looked just as annoyed as she felt. "What the fuck? How can her parents not see how much of a snake she is?"

She shrugged, stopping at a red light. "Don't ask me. I just hope she's doing alright. Weiss says she's still quieter than usual, but that she at least doesn't look like she's going to explode any moment."

Nora, who was absentmindedly sipping Yang’s coffee, nodded. "I noticed. She looks better since you started talking again."

It was true, but Yang could tell that she still harbored some hesitant feelings with taking a risk by seeing each other. She didnt care if she got in trouble, but Blake did. One good rumor spread, a look at her record, and some planted paraphernalia was all it’d take and she’d be arrested again. Or even house arrest, and that was _not_ fun whatsoever.

But Yang just wanted to see her. She was _addicted_.

"She always looks good," She grinned, to which she rolled her eyes. "What, it's true! Have you seen her face? Her eyes? Her smile? Have you even _looked_ at her?"

"Duh, of course I have, I can admit she’s hot and I don’t even swing that way," Nora laughed. "I knew she’d be a catch from the start."

"I suppose she is," Yang laughed back. "So speaking of good catches... how are things with Ren?”

“Pretty good. I kinda feel like he still hasn't forgiven me for eating that pancake batter, though."

"Well, first of all, he was trying to practice for Home Economics-"

"I was just hungry, okay? He needs to get over it-"

"Then there's the fact that he needed to get more batter but it was the middle of the night and the test was the next day..."

"Oh come on, who cares about Elective classes?”

Yang shrugged. "I guess, but you didn't have to inhale it in two seconds flat.”

Nora rolled her eyes again, smiling. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe I just need someone who’ll let me eat the batter. How about you?” She joked.

Yang widened her eyes, feigning surprise. "Ooh, jeez, sorry not my type."

“Pfft. Obviously, because apparently your type is easy and conceited.”

“Blake isn't like that, though.”

"Yeah, okay, but she's one of the few. A lot of the others were pretty annoying," Nora replied.

Looking back, she knew that she was right. Quite frankly, she’d already known they weren't for her when she’d spent time with them.

Blake was an entirely different thing. From the first moment she met her, when she spilled her drink all over her, Yang had been strangely fascinated by her. It was those mesmerizing golden eyes that drew her in, and her personality sealed the deal. Not her body or the thought of getting her into bed, but _her_. 

She felt like she didn't need to use a mask with Blake.

Deep in thought, Yang hadn't even realized how much time had passed and was surprised to see they were already pulling into the school's parking lot. She instinctively looked out for the old black car and tried not to be too disappointed when she didn't find it anywhere. 

Before she exited the car, she spoke again. "Hey, do you have a sharpie?"

Nora rummaged through her bag for a moment and handed her a marker. She took it gratefully and began scribbling a note on a napkin from The Café she’d taken with her for this exact purpose. 

**_Morning junkie, here's some tea to fuel your addiction. I'll pick you up at the gas station on 5th street after school. Sun agreed to tell your dad that you're with him today, so he won’t get suspicious._** She hesitated for a second before she added: **_P.S. I had a dream about you last night_ :P** ****

When she looked up, she saw Nora grin. "Wow, would you look at that. Yang’s becoming a hopeless romantic softie.”

She ignored her comment and got out of the car instead, finding herself getting pulled into a hug as soon as her feet hit the cracked pavement.

"Morning! How are you?" Pyrrha asked cheerfully as she clung onto her. 

She smiled at her and hugged her back, careful not to spill any of her coffee. "Pyrrha, what are you doing?”

Pyrrha shook her head and stared back. The wide smile slowly diminished into a worried curl of her lips. "I read somewhere that it's uplifting for someone going through a stressful time to be with someone who’s happy...and that hugs help.”

"I'm not going through anything," Yang groaned, ignoring Nora’s snort. "I'm fine."

She let go of her and planted herself in front of Yang, her hands on her hips and a scolding look on her face. "Yang, just because someone else is having problems, doesn't mean that yours are less significant. _Both_ of you are in the relationship.”

_Here we go again_. She thought.

"The queen of self-care has spoken," Yang replied sarcastically. 

"I’m serious. You need to talk to us about what's going on. Just refusing to acknowledge that you're not as fine as you like to pretend won't make anything better."

Yang sighed, then slowly said: " _I'm fine_ , Pyr. I won't be any help to Blake if I'm all self-pitying and shit."

"You won't be of _any_ help to her if you keep bottling things up until you explode either," Nora butted in.

Pyrrha nodded, sending her a grateful look. "Exactly. I just think it would do you good to deal with your feelings rather than deny them. Hiding your real feelings is apart of the problem in the first place.”

"But I have _no right_ to complain, right? Alright, so I can't see my girlfriend and I miss her and it's a bad feeling." She took a deep breath. "I’m not proud of myself for the things that I did, but there’s no point in feeling sorry for myself when my mistakes are my _own_. I pursued her first and now she’s involved in everything and I never wanted that. I gave her dad a billion reasons why she should have nothing to do with me." During her rant, her voice had gotten increasingly louder. Now she only sighed and closed her eyes, remembering Blake’s face when the Branwen clan was brought up. "And now Blake just wants to protect me and I don’t need protecting.”

Pyrrha brows were furrowed as she listened to her. "After hearing about what Nebula did, I'm not surprised. I wouldn't put it past her to use your past to her advantage.”

Yang nodded silently and tried to shake the anxious feeling that had crept up on her off. "Anyway. What I'm trying to say is: If you want to make a fuss about someone, make it about her. She’ll only stress herself out, but _I’m_ used to it. I'm okay if she is."

Only as Nora and Pyrrha stared at her speechlessly. She _did_ she notice how unusal she sounded. She may have been whipped, a rare occurrence, but she found that she didn't mind it. She didn't want to run away from it either.

To escape their bewildered faces, Yang twisted around and entered the school. She didn't have to turn around to know that they were following her. It took longer than it should have for her to get to Blake’s locker because everywhere she went, people seemed to gather, shouting greetings and faking smiles for her. Since she wasn't with Blake in public anymore, they had started to assume they weren't talking anymore. This week, she’d already gotten a couple messages, mainly past people attempting to flirt. She deleted all of them without second thought. The chance of her flirting back with them had lost all its appeal. On her way to the locker, she greeted Coco, who followed them wordlessly. 

Once she was there, she frantically looked around for Nebula and when she didn't see her anywhere, she opened the lock with the combination Weiss relayed to her. After placing the tea and the message inside, she made a bee-line to her own locker. 

To say she was surprised to find Nebula and Adam there would be a lie, since recently they liked to follow her around sometimes.

Not sparing them a single glance, she opened her locker and made quick work of stuffing her books into her bag. But of course that didn't stop them from pissing her off.

Nebula was leaning against the locker to her right, batting her eyelashes at her. "Hey, Yang," she purred. "I thought maybe I could come over?”

"You thought wrong," She said flatly. "I have other plans, fuck off.”

"Oh? And what are those? What is a girl like _you_ doing at night when she's not in bed with someone?" Adam huffed. 

Was this his roundabout way of calling her a slut?

"Oh, you know, the usual. Contemplating how to strangle both of you and make it look like an accident, for example."

Nebula looked genuinely offended. "Just because we got rid of that annoying, inexperienced little girl for you?"

"Sorry, I think you meant to say ’ _I tried to destroy your first healthy relationship because I’m a jealous bitch’_ _,_ " She retorted. "Seriously, Nebula, your best bet is to stop annoying me or this is gonna get real ugly."

Pyrrha immediately placed a hand on her arm, as if to stop her from punching Nebula in the throat and said: "Nebula, you've done enough already. Just leave her alone."

Nora nodded and stepped between them. "Why don't you just throw yourself at someone else? There are more than enough _girls_ who wouldn't mind-"

"I don't care about any of them," Nebula snarled. "I want Yang."

"Listen sweetheart," Coco suddenly said in her smooth, calm voice and bent down a little so she could look her in the eye. "You're a fucking _moron_ if you think that ruining Blake’s family life will help you get her back. _Seriously_ , what kind of fuck shit is that? Of course she'll be pissed when you hurt her girlfriend."

Adam narrowed his eyes at her. "Since when are you the _Blake_ _Belladonna Fanclub_?" He turned to look at Yang. "And _you_ , what does she even see in you? What's so special about you, anyway?" He stepped even closer, until they were almost touching. "I hope Blake sees that you’ll just bring her down. That you’re _nothing_ but lowlife. Maybe that'll teach her to stay away from people like-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Yang already had him stumbling away from her, howling in pain. 

Nora and Coco collectively grinned when they saw Yang, now standing behind him, one hand mercilessly dragging him away from her, and eventually slammed him face-forward into a locker. Adam growled and turned around, fists raised and ready to punch her. 

What he seemed to not know, was that just she’d been boxing in a sports club for the better half of her life, a pastime her and Nora both enjoyed. 

Her punch was hard and precise: Adam was down in seconds, leaning limply against the wall with blood gushing out of his nose. He stared up at Yang with nothing but hatred written across his features. He looked at her and sneered: "Not letting your lap dog fight your battles this time, huh? You're so pathetic Yang, I can't believe anyone at this school can’t see what a fucking-"

She was back at his side in a heartbeat, gripping Adam’s collar, one hand already raised to knock him out. 

But Pyrrha was just as quick and put a hand around her fist. She could faintly hear her saying: "That’s enough, Yang. Come on, let go of him. You’ll be in serious trouble if you’re caught again...”

Surprising everyone, Yang groaned and let Pyrrha pull her away from him, quietly muttering under her breath.

Nora was matching her same energy. ”Let me at him too. Just let me break his legs just _one_ -”

”No.” Pyrrha called out to her.

Yang thanked her absentmindedly, but kept her eyes trained on Nebula as she kneeled down next to Adam and started to wipe the blood away with a handkerchief from her purse. 

Pyrrha looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "Did you plan on stepping in or were you just going to let her knock your ’ _friend_ ’ unconscious?"

The indigo-haired girl frowned and continued to clean up Adam’s face with a disgusted expression, trying hard not to get any blood on her hands. "What was I supposed to do? Let them brawl. Our partnership is temporary.”

"This is exactly why Dew, Gwen and Octavia don’t talk to you anymore..but that’s only a _small_ part of the crap you do.” Coco added, then tipped her aviators down to regard her. ”Guess ya’ll aren't the NDGO Girls anymore, huh?”

The other girl looked taken aback for a moment. Then she shook her head and the scowl was back on her face. "Whatever. Get out of here."

They didn't need to be told twice. Yang and Nora strolled to the gym, where their next class was, while Pyrrha and Coco went elsewhere. The first few minutes passed in silence, which was remarkable considering they both loved to talk.

But at some point, she just had to ask. "Nora... what we're you planning on doing if Pyrrha didn't stop you?

Nora shrugged. "Oh, I just wanted to throttle him. He has no right to talk like that and I’ve been itching to do that for a while. One of these days...”

"Since when do you care about risking detention for someone I’m dating?" She asked.

"Since you started dating someone you actually care about," The redhead shot back, smiling faintly.

Yang laughed and bumped her with her shoulder, which she returned. "Yeah yeah, whatever.”

Afterwards they both dwelled on their own thoughts until they reached the locker room, where they both went to change into their gym clothes. 

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Blake standing at her locker right next to hers, her midnight hair flowed down as she laced her shoes up. 

"Hey," Yang whispered as she dropped her bag on the bench next to her, casually brushing her hand in the process. 

Blake looked around nervously, but she didn't miss the faint blush that crept onto her cheeks. 

"Don't worry, I don't think Nebula will come here anytime soon," The blonde announced. 

Blake looked up in surprise, finally daring to glance at her. Her cheeks turned even redder when she saw that she was currently topless. She made sure to flex a little more than necessary as she slipped her gym shirt on.

"Uhm..." The faunas muttered as she tore her eyes away from her and looked at her face instead. "Thanks for the tea."

"Anytime, sweetheart," She grinned. "So, do you think you can meet me there after school? We could hang out at mine or something."

Blake's face lit up at that. "Definitely."

She smiled back at her and grazed her cheek fleetingly with the back of her hand. "Okay."

"Yeah... I need to talk to you about something," Blake replied, chewing on her lip. 

It took Herculean strength just to keep herself from biting her lip herself.

"We can talk about anything you want later," Yang promised before the shrill noise of the coach's whistle rang through the room and they went back to pretending they weren't stopping to glance at each other.

+++

The next two periods felt like days, so she skipped the rest of class and went home instead. She spent the free time working out at home. The physical activity momentarily distracted her from thinking about Blake.

Afterwards, she had a quick shower before she got into the car and drove to the gas station. Blake was already waiting there, leaning against a wall. Yang pulled up right next to her and pushed the passenger door open for her to get in.

As soon as she was inside the warm comfort of the car, she took her face in both of her hands and smothered her attempt of a greeting with her lips. A surprised noise escaped her throat, but only seconds later she edged closer and reached out to frame Yang’s face with her hands.

The blonde chuckled quietly as she saw her expression when she backed away after only a few seconds; Blake didn't seem sure whether to glare or pout, so in the end she settled on frowning in disappointment. 

"Don't worry, there's more of that later," Yang muttered before she turned to face the street and started the engine.

Blake seemed somewhat satisfied with that promise and settled back into the leather seat, fiddling with a loose thread on the hem of her shirt. "Why weren't you at school for the last few periods?"

She looked over at her, surprised that she had even noticed. "I'm the ’delinquent’, remember?" Yang said jokingly, airquoting. "Might as well keep up the image.”

"I, uh... heard about what happened with Adam," she said while carefully studying her hands in her lap. "You could’ve gotten in trouble, even if he deserved it.”

"It’s not like we hung around to find out. Plus, I guarantee you no one will say a _word_ about it.”

Blake grimaced a little. "And if they _did_ , and it got back to my dad?”

"It won’t," She said confidently. "If it isn't because some people are scared of me, then it’ll be because no one likes Adam anyway. Because he’s a little overcompensating bitch.”

Blake chuckled, leaning back in the passenger seat. She immediately had to smile; Blake’s laugh was easily one of her favourite sounds in the entire world. It was gone too soon, as she said: "I can only stay with you until eight. Sun called my parents and told them we were spending the afternoon together. Of course they believed him, but they asked me to make it home for dinner."

"Hey, at least it’s three hours. More than we had all week, " Yang shrugged, trying not to sound bitter.

The faunas was unusually quiet for a few minutes. 

At some point, the silence got so thick that she reached for her hand and asked: "Is there anything you wanna talk about?" 

Blake finally looked up, though she still seemed insecure. "About the whole girlfriend thing..."

She froze. She could admit that she’d been a bit worried that she might not like the idea of being in an actual relationship with her, given everything, also since that was kind of a big step for someone who had only just accepted the fact that she wasn't even straight. Or maybe she just didn't like her that much. Maybe she-

"We haven't really talked about it much, but I want you to know you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Blake murmered, interrupting her thoughts.

Her words didn't make any sense. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you're not really into heavy relationships and all that, " She explained. "I don't want you to think that you’re obligated. Because we don't have to, if it makes you uncomfortable or feels weird or-"

"Blake, I want this," Yang simply said, surprised by the truth in her own words. "Even though I might be a shitty excuse of a gilrfriend, because I... uh, I've never been in an actual relationship before. One that _meant_ anything at least. So I might not really know how to go about everything..."

Blake snickered in delight. "So it'll be _me_ showing _you_ something new for once."

"Oh, don't worry," She retorted, pulling into the driveway and hopping out of the car. "There's still a lot I can teach you."

She knew that she’d picked up on the double entendre as soon as her cheeks turned scarlet. Holding a hand out, she waited for her on the porch. 

Blake hesitated for only a second before she jogged up to her and slipped her hand into her own.

Something about that gesture made her ridiculously happy; A few weeks ago, Blake hadn't dared to even really look her in the eye, now she kissed and held hands and hugged without giving much thought to it.

Once they were inside and had taken their jackets and shoes off, they chatted as they headed upstairs and into her room, where she gestured at the bed, making her blush yet again. Chuckling, she shook my head at her. "Damn Blake, I just meant to _sit_. You have a dirty mind.”

The faunas glared at her, but sat down on the bed nonetheless, while she turned on a bunch of fairy lights and small lamps that were occupying any free space in her room, drowning everything in soft golden light. Outside, the sun was about to set. 

"I’ve been meaning to say, I like your room," Blake said all of a sudden.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm. Your bed is really comfy."

The genuine innocence of that statement made her grin. People who had come here before, had usually only cared about the bed, but not because it was the coziest place on the planet with the huge amount of blankets and pillows, but because it was where... other things took place, too.

Still laughing, she flopped onto the bed and pulled her down with her, so that they were laying amidst the fluffy cushions. 

After a moment of silence and Yang playing with her midnight hair, she abruptly asked: "Did you really dream about me last night?"

Now it was her turn to be slightly embarrassed. "Yeah.”

"What was the dream about?"

Yang hesitated for a heartbeat. There was a voice in her head telling her to just go for it. It was the stupid part of her brain, the impulsive side; the one that got her into most of her bad decisions without thinking it’d have any consequences. But it was also the part that had told her to kiss Blake for the first time that one night- and hadn't that turned out alright?

Throwing the last remnants of her slowly dwindling sense out of the window, she propped herself up on one elbow. "..Want me to show you?"

She didn't miss the way Blake's breath hitched in her throat as she looked at her with wide eyes, nor did she miss her biting her lip. After a split second, she nodded tentatively.

Yang’s own breath caught as she reached out and gingerly laid a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. Her eyes were closed even before their lips even touched. She paused for a second, strangely fascinated by the way her long lashes grazed the tender skin beneath her eyes. Her gaze darted back to her lips, which were parted slightly in anticipation.

The kiss was almost painfully sweet, slow and cautious, until she started to deepen it, teeth scraping across her bottom lip. Blake’s hands were sliding up her arms, searching for something to hold onto. The blonde pushed her back into the pillows and straddled her. careful not to crush her with her weight. 

"That’s all?" Blake asked, though she sounded breathless already, and grinned up at her.

"Oh, sorry. Am I boring you?" Yang asked in the same teasing voice and planted a kiss right underneath her ear. That had to be some kind of sweet spot, judging by her sharp intake of breath and the goosebumps forming on her skin. She made sure to document that in the back of her mind.

Blake reached for her again, this time to lift the hem of her shirt with a question in her eyes.

She got the hint and pulled it over her head, then gestured at her clothes. "Can I..."

The golden-eyed girl was taking her shirt off even before she could finish the sentence. She gasped quietly when she suddenly rolled them around, so that she was on top of her.

Grinning mischieveously, Blake leaned down a little, pressing her lips to her neck. Yang’s breath caught in her throat when she felt her sucking on the skin ever so lightly, until she was sure a bruise started forming. When she looked back up again, there was a new kind of sparkle in her amber eyes. "How many hickeys did you say I could give you again? A _dozen_?"

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, when her lips were back on her neck, drawing a quiet grunt out of her instead of an answer. Blake’s smile was as wide as the Cheshire Cat's as she trailed a dull fingernail over the bruises. "Is this okay?"

" _Yeah_ , hell yeah." Yang breathed out.

Blake was quick to comply, working her way down her neck. She gasped when she suddenly made her way further down, trailing kisses along her chest. 

"Wait," She laughed and flipped them around once again, holding her wrists down. "This is about _you_ today."

Blake raised a brow, but didn't object. Nor did she complain when she started slowly unbuttoning her pants, leaving her the option to stop, and pulled them down, discarding them somewhere next to the bed. She quickly got out of hers too, but hesitated when it came to her boyshorts, sending her a questioning glance.

She could tell that the faunas was nervous just by the way she was biting her lip, but after a moment, she nodded. Yang got out of the last item of clothing unceremoniously and looked down at her. Blake swallowed before she did the same.

"You okay?" Yang asked. "We don't need to go any further, you know."

She shushed her, propping herself up on her elbows and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips. When she backed away, she muttered: "I want to. I just never... You know, I don't have any experience with _this_."

Yang nodded with a wide smile that just wouldn't leave. "Don't worry, I got you," She said and cupped her cheek. "You tell me when you want to stop, okay?"

"Okay," she said, barely audible, but with a shy smile.

For a moment all Yang could do was stare at her; everything about her was just so beautiful. Her skin was the color of honey in the golden light, her hair was dishevelled and hung into her eyes. When she leaned closer, she saw that the dark gold ring of her iris was practically being swallowed By dilated pupils. The pink tint to her cheeks stood out against her skin.

What she found even more enchanting was the way she reacted to her touch, the way her back arched and her eyes fluttered shut, the way her fingers grasped onto the sheets and her chest rose with every sharp intake of breath. She adored the noises that occasionally filled the room, though it got progressively harder to distinguish which were hers and which fell from her own mouth. She loved the quiet affirmations, and the whimpers and whines muffled by a pillow and the sound of her name; whispered over and over again.

Yang tried to savor every detail, every second of this to remember when this would be nothing more than a memory, wishing nothing more than to capture the moment forever.

+++

Long after the sun had set, Blake was still laying next to her, her head resting on her shoulder. She could feel her soft breaths against her skin, coaxing goosebumps to the surface. Her eyes were shut, one of her hands intertwined with hers. The content smile playing around her puffy lips was enough to reassure her of everything.

"Was this how you imagined it?" Yang asked as she brushed a hand through her locks, which were still damp from the shower they had a few minutes ago.

She opened one eye to look at her. "Better. Was I... was it okay for you?"

Yang raised a brow and tapped a finger against her nose. " _Okay_?" She echoed. "That would be the understatement of the year."

"Is it normal for my brain to feel like jello?" Blake mused.

She laughed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Stop being adorable. I don't think my body's ready for a round two."

Blake opened her eyes just to roll them at her. Then she said, grinning incredulously: "I can't believe we just did that."

"I know," She agreed. Reality still hadn't really settled in. 

Blake was here, she was holding her in her arms and she was fine. She hadn't scared her away and she felt like that was the only thing of significance that had ever happened to her, when it came to relationships.

She definitely didn't think they’d end up at this point, considering how they’d met.

They both jumped when her phone suddenly began to ring. Blake groaned and stretched a hand out, but was too exhausted to make any further attempts at retrieving it. Instead, she looked up at her with her own version of the puppy eyes. Yang chuckled and slid towards the edge of the bed to fish it out of the pocket of her pants, which were still laying on the floor.

She smiled gratefully at the blonde and settled back onto her chest as she answered the call. "Yes?”

"Blake, aren’t you coming home for dinner," a deep voice asked through the device. 

And Yang was absolutely terrified of it.

She could feel Blake’s body stiffening against hers and wrapped her arm a little tighter around her. "Yeah, I... I'm coming," she said, swatting Yang’s arm upon hearing her muffled chuckles.

"Ask Sun if he would like to have dinner with us," Her father instructed.

"We just had some food in town." The lie fell easily from her lips, though her eyes looked troubled saying it.

"Alright. Can I speak to him? I’ve been meaning to ask him something.”

Blake tensed up for a moment. Clearing her throat, she said: "He’s in the bathroom right now. I'll be home in a few minutes, dad." Then she hung up, tossing the phone over the edge of the bed. With a loud sigh, she tilted her chin to look at her. "I should go...”

Yang nodded, ignoring the pang of disappointment that she had to leave so soon, and pulled her into one last kiss. 

When Blake sat up afterwards, she was still looking a little dazed, but the grin was back on her face. 

"Yang?" She said as she was just about to leave. "I think we might’ve had the same dream."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m bad, I’m bad, you know it

**Blake**

"Tell me _everything_ _,_ " Weiss demanded, placing a sassy hand on her hip.

Blake’s cheeks were burning as she sunk into a nearby chair. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, right," Sun chuckled and sat down on the table in front of her, his infamous yellow low-tops propped up on the back of another chair. "C'mon, I know I didn't lie to your dad for nothing.”

"I hate both of you," She declared.

They only exchanged an amused glance, before Sun shrugged: "Nah, you don't. At least tell us if it was good?"

Both girls stared at him for a moment.

“What? I’m not trying to be creepy! I just wanna know if the girl is all talk so I can tease her about it. Plus I tell you guys about _my-“_

Weiss held a hand up, interurpting him. “Which no one asked you to do, you buffoon. I can’t even look certain people in the eye anymore.”

Blake buried her face in her arms, which were resting on the table, hoping that would muffle her answer. "Fine. Yeah, it was. Why do you think so many people want to talk to her? _Surely_ not to study algebra."

Sun cracked up laughing and hopped up, slapping her back approvingly. "Who would've thought you'd someday be able to say you got a piece of the _second_ hottest blonde in school? Well, now that I think about it, you got a piece of the _first_ too-“

“Oh, I didn't know Blake slept with Jaune.” Weiss murmured, checking her nails whilst earning a glare from Sun.

"Ugh. Can you please not say that?" She groaned, answering Sun’s previous comment. "Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it."

"She was being nice though, right?" Weiss asked, a little more serious now.

Blake lifted her head off the table to smile reassuringly at her. "Yeah, she was...”

That was probably an understatement; Yang had been more than nice. She’d been so careful and considerate and just.. _sweet_. She had imagined all of it to be hastier, less intimate. She had _no_ earthly idea what she was doing but Yang was there every step of the way. She hadn't expected quiet questions for consent or long kisses, no strong arms wrapped tightly around her or soft breathing against her neck or having every inch of her _worshipped_. Nor had she thought that she’d want to just lay there and cuddle afterward, still warm and fuzzy in the afterglow.

It was _everything_ and more.

Somewhere in the back of her head, there’d still been that stupid fear that she might dump her as soon as she’d gotten her into bed. If all of this truly was just a challenge to her, then Yang beat it, and she would’ve just gotten bored right? Knowing that wasn't the case was a bigger relief than she cared to admit. 

So maybe there _was_ no ulterior motive. Yang was trying and it showed. They both were; they would try to learn to trust each other without any lingering worry.

Blake was putting a _lot_ of faith in her, with her trust and her heart, telling her not to break them. Both were fragile.

Even if Yang was still hesitant about being completely open and vulnerable about her _real_ feelings, she definitely expressed it in other ways.

"Good," Weiss said. "So I don't need to get Ilia to come here and beat her up. That's nice to know."

Blake laughed quietly, making Sun and Weiss share an equally relieved look. Probably because she had been a useless, angry mess over the last few weeks and they were glad that they didn't have to worry about her being anxious over losing one of the good things in her life.

Her mood had improved so much since yesterday that her parents noticed, and it put a smile on their faces. If only they knew the reason.

"Ilia, huh?" Sun asked, faking an insulted scowl. "Don't trust _me_ to handle the job? I’d just stare at her menacingly and she’d get the message. I’m, like, totally badass ya know?”

Weiss shrugged innocently. "Well, if I wanted someone with the aggression of a golden retriever to try to intimidate her, I could've done that myself."

While Sun glared at them, both girls shared a laugh.

"Anyways," The monkey faunas laughed. "Are you guys coming to that party at Nadir’s tonight?"

Blake frowned, resting her chin in one hand. "Who's Nadir?"

He looked at her in disbelief. "Dude, he’s that one guy who hangs with Reese, Bolin and Arslan all the time! The one with the pink undercut? Super cool. I think he was with Yang for like two days last year."

”Only two days?" She asked, admittedly a little shocked. Two days really weren't much, even by Yang’s standards.

He quickly added: "Yeah, but it was actually because of him, not Yang. He, uh... broke it off because he got together with Ivori, that short guy with glasses from our Chemistry class who's like, insanely smart?"

" _Oh_ ," Blake said. "Oh, okay. So Nadir is bi?"

"Yea," Sun nodded. "The interesting thing is that even afterwards, he and Yang were still talking. They still seem to get on well."

He continued.

"So, are you guys going to that party?" He repeated, smiling. ”Everyone will be there and it might be fun..."

"I don't know..."

Weiss shot her an incredulous glance. "What are you talking about, of course you are! I will never make it there without you.”

Blake rolled her eyes at him. "I don't even know half of the people there."

Sun dismissed her arguments with the wave of a hand. "There'll be one person you want to see. Yang told me she’d drop by."

"But what about Adam and Nebula? Surely, they'll be there too then..."

"Adam is sick today and Nebula is always the first one to leave parties with some unfortunate soul. So after she's gone, you and Yang can... do your thing or whatever.”

"Fine," She conceeded. "I'm coming."

"I told you." Weiss smirked at Sun. "As soon as you mention that blonde brute, she's in." Then she turned to look at her. "I'll pick you up, okay? So your parents know you're with _me_.”

That was fair. He wouldn't enjoy the thought of Blake being with a ”reckless delinquent” at a party filled with even more teenagers. He was a lawyer and already had a grudge against criminal-types.

Her dad probably thought that Yang did all sorts of crazy things, granted; she was impulsive but it wasn't like they’d go snort Dust on the dashboard of a car as they drunk-drived. She liked to have fun, but she wasn't stupid, nor has she ever involved Blake in anything too bad. Blake made her _own_ choices, it wouldn't be her fault anyhow. She never felt peer-pressured either. She kept her safe.

Her father just needed to see that. He knew from his past that words were not enough. He also knew that she, Sun and Weiss would just protect her when prompted. Still, he did not trust Yang or her behavior. He was thick-skulled.

Yang _did_ bring out another side of Blake, he was right on _that_ aspect...and she absolutely _loved_ it. She _craved_ it.

It was like letting your hair flow free in the wind, riding a steel horse to nowhere.

Yang set her free. 

Her dad didn't want her to follow down _”her path”_? Well, Blake would show him what a _real_ rebel is..behind his back.

She just couldn't risk Yang getting into any trouble, but she wouldn't give up either. 

She wanted them to be together.

+++

As soon as the doorbell rang, Ghira walked past her and opened it, blocking the entire doorframe from view.

Blake rolled her eyes at his back and stayed behind him while he talked to Weiss.

"Good evening, Mr. Belladonna," Weiss greeted politely. Since she knew her so well, she could hear the nervousnes she was trying to hide just in that one sentence. "I am here to pick Blake up..for the party."

"Can I trust you, Weiss?" Her father asked in his calm, calculating lawyer-voice. "You girls keep each other safe, alright? Don’t do anything stupid, and don’t hang with the wrong crowds.” 

" _Be Safe_? It's fine, dad, I promise I won’t get involved in anything bad. What am I gonna do, fraternize with criminals?" She snorted and finally pushed past her perplexed father.

She had to keep the smirk off of her face, and her laughter inside. Since he considers Yang some ”criminal” because of her record..then he’d hate to find out about all the _fraternizing_ they did the other day. It’d be a good idea to keep the bruises hidden. 

Weiss turned around briefly to hide her grin. When she looked back at her father, she said in the most serious voice she could muster: "Don't worry, Mr. Belladonna, I'll keep her away from anything. We’ll stay together the whole time.”

Her father, completely oblivious to the heavy sarcasm lacing Weiss’ words, actually seemed relieved and turned to look at Blake. "Be responsible, Blake. Don't make me regret trusting you, okay sweetie?”

She bit back a snarky comment and just nodded stiffly before pivoting and dragging Weiss with her.

"You know, if you want me to go back and talk to him, I'll gladly do that," Weiss declared as she unlocked the car.

"Don't bother. Talking doesn't get you anywhere with him. I've _tried_. My mom tried. It’ll probably take action, but I can’t exactly _show_ him if I’m not allowed to see her in the first place! Ugh.”

Weiss got into the driver's seat wordlessly, but her lips were pressed together in a thin line as she started the engine. ”A real Romeo and Juliet saga, huh? Well, _Juliet_ and Juliet I suppose.”

”Please don’t compare us to a couple who famously _died_.”

They both giggled before Blake turned on the radio to banish the thoughts from her mind and switched to a particularly upbeat station. Their faces immediately lightened up, and minutes later Blake was aggressively whispering the lyrics and drumming on the dashboard. Though, she was no match for the trained vocalist right next to her.

As they drove, Weiss continued quietly singing to herself.

Blake fondly rolled her eyes, but still smiled. "Well, aren't you just a big showoff?" Then she pointed at a house at the side of the road. "Is that it?"

Weiss craned her neck to see what she meant and nodded. A few minutes and a frantic search for a free parking space later, they walked up to the open front door. Loud music was sounding out onto the lawn, making the windows of the townhouse vibrate slightly whilst also bothering her ears slightly. Even louder was the chatter and roaring of all the teenagers in different states of inebriation that were crowded in the garden and inside.

The door swung open as soon as Weiss pushed against it, giving clear view on a corridor and a living room, where most people seemed to hang about on a bunch of couches.

A tall, muscular guy in cut-out jeans and no shirt walked towards them. Bright white teeth contrasted against beautifully brown skin as he smiled wide. "What’s up!" he said cheerfully. "Come on in, ladies.”

Blake wondered how she could’ve ever managed to miss that pink manbun undercut at school.

Maybe because her attention was always occupied by a certain blonde.

Blake hugged him back awkwardly as he threw an arm around her. There was so much naked skin that she didn't know where to place her hands.

"Name’s Nadir. You're Yang’s girl, right?"

"Uh, yeah..." She mumbled. It felt weird telling him that, knowing that he had been with her prior.

But he seemed completely comfortable and said: "Sweet, I'm happy for you guys! I was already wondering when Yang would _finally_ -"

"Dir, let go of him," an amused voice suddenly muttered from right next to him. "You're making her uncomfortable."

Standing next to them, was a shorter guy wearing nerdy glasses. He sported a gold choker and a white jacket that was only half-zipped, showing skin as well; since there was no shirt underneath. Ear-length ivory hair spilled out from underneath his beanie, creating a stark contrast to his highly tanned skin and brown eyes.

"Oh. Sorry," Nadir said and took a step back, slipping an arm around the guy’s waist instead. He was easily four inches taller than him, despite wearing slides, which made it a little difficult to do so. "This is Ivori, my boyfriend and the reason for this party."

"Oh, it's your birthday?" Weiss inquired.

Ivori shook his head, laughing. "No. But I came home from a month-long visit to my family in Atlas yesterday and Nadir uses it as an excuse to throw a party."

Nadir just shrugged before saying: "Don't just stand around here, guys, get yourself something to drink! Yang isn't here yet, but I think I saw Pyrrha and a few other guys. I also think I saw your bud, Sun, chilling with Nep last time I saw ’em.”

”Have fun.” Ivori called after them as they walked off, waving.

Blake shouted back a short thanks, already losing sight of him in the crowd. However, she _did_ spot Sun waving at them from one of the couches and immediately dragged Weiss over there.

"Hey, Blake!" Sun chirped, standing up from his spot on the couch to hug her. He lost his balance in the process, nearly dragging her down with him, until she tightly wrapped her arms around him to keep him from falling.

"Hey, Sun," Blake began, gently pushing him back onto the couch. "How much did you drink already?"

Sun made a vague gesture, laughing quietly. 

Rolling her eyes, she turned around to go and see if there was anything non-alcoholic to drink. She felt anxiety fluttering in the pit of her stomach as she made her way through the room, pushing past drunk teenagers and couples hooking up. 

By the time she reached the table with the drinks, she was anxious and irritated, which she always got within big crowds. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Yang coming inside and dared to wave timidly at her. The blonde didn't seem to notice or even look for her. Instead she started just went straight up the stairs.

Blake frowned. Having Yang around would do wonders for her anxiety. However, she chose to ignore the twinge of disappointment and turned back to the matter at hand. Seeing as there was nothing virgin other than water, she grabbed two bottles and made her way back to the others.

"Drink that," Blake asserted over the loud music and tossed one of the bottles at the monkey faunas.

He made no move at all to catch it, so it just dropped into his lap. 

"But that's water. That's no fun," Sun complained, pouting at me.

”I think you've had enough fun already," Blake replied. 

"You should really drink that," Neptune suddenly said, reaching out to take the bottle and open it for him. She watched in surprise as he gently handed it back to him, offering him a smile. "Or you'll have a killer headache tomorrow, man.”

To her astonishment, Sun actually did it this time, albeit reluctantly. He _really_ seemed to be determined to have a hangover tomorrow.

Once he had emptied the bottle under Neptune’s watchful eyes, she left them behind and started up the stairs to the second floor. The steps squeaked faintly under her weight until she reached the top.

There were quite a few doors, most of them shut. Unsure what to do next, she looked around nervously. She felt like an intruder, sneaking around here all alone while everyone else was partying downstairs. At least it gave her a short break from the music bothering her ears, and from all the people.

After a few seconds of standing at the top of the stairs stalling, she moved to the first door. It was ajar, so it swung open as soon as she touched it. Behind it was an empty bathroom that she left immediately. The next open door led into a bedroom where a couple was currently engaged in a game of tonsil hockey. She bolted out of there before they even had the chance to notice her.

Slightly discouraged, she strolled down the corridor, trying two more doors. Both of them were locked, so the only room left was the one at the end of the hall.

After taking a deep breath, she tentatively twisted the doorknob. She silently hopped for an empty room this time, to relax herself. The room obviously was Nadir’s sister; the white walls were barely visible under hundreds of photos of their family, and mainly his sis with other cheerleader friends.

The only source of light was the bedside lamp next to the huge four poster bed. It was one of those really luxurious ones, the kind with curtains around it. Behind those half-closed white curtains, she could see the outlines of two people sitting closely together.

She was about to walk right out of the door and maybe look for Yang again downstairs, when her ear twitched and she could hear pieces of a conversation.

"Just stop thinking about her for _one fucking second_ ," a female voice said. "Blake isn't _here_. She won’t even know.”

Blake froze and turned back around, but the curtains were still closed and shielding them from view.

Her heart felt like it was dropping from a ten-story building when she suddenly heard Yang’s voice. All she said were two words, but they were enough to make her stomach twist. "..She can't."

Her brain was in a haze, every thought slow like molasses, but Nebula’s next words managed to cut through the fog. "How do you think she would react? I'm sure she would be _so_ sad..."

"She can’t find out," Yang repeated, firm and urgent. "Or I swear to God I’ll-”

”You’ll _what_?”

”Can we just stop the talking? and... just kiss me already.”

For a heartbeat, time was frozen as the words sunk in. Then the room started to tilt. 

Desperately trying to find her balance, she clung onto the doorframe for support as she watched Nebula bend forward. Yang’s upper body came into view when Nebula pushed her onto her back, no longer concealed by the half-drawn curtains around the bed.

Blake could see her face, her wide eyes, tousled blond hair, her arms resting motionless on the blanket next to her, no move to push Nebula away as she leaned down and locked lips with her.

Yang’s eyes squeezed shut and she could see her hands clawing onto the sheets beneath her, as if to stop herself from touching her. Nebula grinned against her lips. Only now she could see that her blouse was unbuttoned, revealing a red bra.

A strangled noise clawed its way up the faunas’ throat and escaped before she could stop it.

Yang’s head lolled to the side, and then she could finally see her eyes, lilac and wide and so _devastatingly beautiful_ even when they were filled with tremendous guilt. 

As soon as the remorse in her eyes increased, Blake knew it had to be because of her ears that she felt sadly flatten against her head.

" _Fuck_... Blake, listen, I _swear_ \- I promise yo--" she began, stammering and sounding breathless.

Her feet were moving before she could hear the rest. She didn't care right now.

Somehow she made it to the door, stumbled down the stairs, almost falling down the last few steps before she could catch herself on the banister.

She didn't try to find her friends. Instead she let the crowd swallow her and spit her out next to the fridge with the drinks.

A few guys were standing around it, laughing about something, when she asked quietly: "Hey, um, what's the strongest drink in there?"

One of them, a jock from the basketball team, looked at her with a wide grin. "You wanna get hammered tonight, girl?”

Blake nodded, forcing a grin on her face. "Absolutely. I don't wanna remember _any_ of this tomorrow."

Another guy grinned approvingly, slurring something about her being a _real woman_ , while the jock searched through the fridge for a moment before he re-emerged and said: "Nothing in there really hits. I have something better for ya." With that, he picked up a glass bottle filled with a clear liquid from a nearby table and handed it to her. "Heh, _enjoy_.”

Blake turned around without thanking him, clutching the bottle like it was a lifeline while she staggered towards the front door. Weiss had driven her here, but she couldn't bear to go back and search for her.

Instead, she walked down the side of the road and then the next one, knowing it would take at least an hour to get home. At some point it started to rain, and soon her clothes were soaked with water, weighing her down until she gave in and collapsed on the side of the road. To sit..to think.

She hated getting wet and cold, but at this point, that was the furthest thing from her mind.

Her teeth were chattering and her fingers started to feel numb, but all of it was a welcome distraction. She tilted her head back, feeling the raindrops pouring over her face and trickling down her back. 

It was hard to open the bottle with her shaky hands, but eventually she managed to get the lid off and took a big sip.

The alcohol burnt in her throat, but it warmed her from the inside out, so she didn't care.

One thing it couldn't do was drown out the echo of Yang’s words in her ears, or banish the sight of the look in her eyes when she spotted her from the insides of her eye lids.

Fragments of memories whirled around her head; soft lips pressing against hers under the night sky, a thumb grazing over her wrist reassuringly, her heartbeat beneath her cheek.

_"You’re so much better than any stupid activity I could be doing."_

_"You say that now."_

_"And I'll still say it anytime thereafter, thank you very much.”_

She had believed her. She’d known what she was like, and she _still_ believed her. Now she was paying the price. Maybe her mom was right about heartbreakers always getting what they want. 

Yang even sounded like she was about to have the nerve to say ”Oh, it’s not what it looks like!”. Did she take Blake for a fool? What kind of cliché bullshit answer was that? Insulting her intelligence was just adding insult to injury.

It was at the point of that realization that a strange sense of numbness took over, until she didn't know if the feeling in her chest was anger or sorrow, if the wetness on her face was rain or tears, if she was shaking because of the cold or from the sad _anger_ she tried to hold in that kept wrecking her lithe frame.

Blake knew that she would have to get up at some point, that she had to get home, but she wouldn't move. She just sat there, feeling like she had taken a step back from the actual events and was just a bystander, devoid of any emotion and simply letting the rain and the headlights of the passing cars wash over her. 

She’d been in dark places many times over before they’d met, and the sunshine that brightened it betrayed her trust. Even after Blake had given her _everything,_ quite literally every part of her.

The thought of her dad being right was just... _too_ much.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, remember not to take this self-indulgent story too seriously. It’s for me, by me (and also Bean when he contributes) and for the day ones who wants to see where this all goes. Those of you who enjoy it and waited for the aftermath, this one’s for you!   
> 🖤🐝💛
> 
> This is a rollercoaster ride that will in fact be bumpy. Life isn't perfect and I try to portray that.
> 
> Let’s try to have fun here! Enjoy the ride.

**Yang**

Yang had a headache even before she arrived at the party. The throbbing pain had started a few hours ago, or more precisely: when she’d gotten a call from Nebula. Her message had been short and clear:

_”You should come to the party at Nadir’s. I'll be waiting for you in his sister’s room. I think you can guess what’ll happen if you don't.”_

Of course she knew what the consequences would be; she'd tell Blake’s dad that they had been together, regardless of whether it was true or not. She’d make up some story or some other psychotic thing she was prone to doing and Yang would take the fall. Or more likely, Blake would take the fall _for_ her and she just couldn't have that.

They wouldn't be able to be together.

The thought of that and what would happen was enough to make her leave the house at exactly nine in the evening, even though there were about thirty things she would’ve rather done.

The air outside was mild and the sun was still peeking through some houses at the end of the road, casting long shadows onto the pavement. The nights were still harsh and icy, but spring was finally in full swing, chasing the winter and its grim cold away during the day. 

Despite the friendly weather, she was feeling pissed off and downcast. She knew what Nebula wanted, and she knew that she would have to give it to her if it was to protect Blake from doing anything stupid.

The drive to Nadir’s house was shorter than she would've liked, and she stepped onto the porch all too soon.

The noise that engulfed her the second she stepped through the door was almost deafening, loud enough to drown out her thoughts for at least a moment. People from her year and some underclassmen started coming up to her as soon as the door fell shut behind her, their voices blurring together and creating an insignificant buzz.

From the times she’d been here before she knew exactly where the room was, but she wasted some time standing around in the corridor for a minute nevertheless. 

Finally, taking a steadying breath, she opened the door.

The room behind it was dimly lit by a single lamp next to the invitingly large bed. Of course the fact that it was Nebula who was sprawled on the sheets made it a helluva lot less appealing.

"Yang," she said with a wide smile, propping herself up on one elbow. She didn't miss the way she pushed her chest out and batted her eyelashes at her, but it had absolutely no effect on her. "I'm so glad you came."

"I can't say the pleasure is all mine," Yang snorted as she crossed the distance in the room.

Nebula only shrugged, seemingly unfazed, and got onto her knees on the bed. Her lips twisted into a smirk while she started to unbutton her blouse. "Oh, don't worry, gorgeous. I'm going to give you some pleasure soon enough."

"You _could_ just leave me alone. I'm sure that'd feel even better," She dead-panned, keeping her eyes fixed on her face even as the last button came undone.

The emerald-eyed girl pulled her onto the bed by hooking a finger into the collar of her shirt, making her sit next to her on the mattress. "Oh, Yang. You really can't seem to see what's best for you..." She bent forward and reached for her, pulling her closer. "Spoiler alert: it damn sure isn't Blake.”

Yang reached for her hand and forcefully pried it off her, earning a quiet hiss and a glare in return. Staring back at her, she spouted out, "What do you _want_ , Nebula?"

"I want you," She said, shrugging, inching a little closer until her knees were pressing against hers. In a firmer voice, she added, "And I'm going to have you. Or you're going to watch me ruin your life, and in turn, also ruining Blake’s, and know that it's nobody's fault but yours."

For a few seconds all she could do was blink at her. "You...need some help. Immediately. You cannot be serious.”

"Oh?" Her pink lips curled into a sardonic smile. Reaching into the pocket of her jeans, she produced her phone and angled it so she could watch as she selected Blake's family's home number. "Do you wanna bet?"

"Stop it," The blonde growled, eyes fixed on the screen as her thumb hovered right above the call button. Panic started to creep to the forefront of her mind, but she was determined to force it down. She wouldn't go through with this. She couldn't. "You don't know what you're doing or what the consequences are-"

"I do," she said with a defiant jerk of her chin. "Blake’s dad will know you’ve been seeing her, fucking her whatever. As soon as I tell him what _I_ know about the shit _you_ did, then lawyer daddy will have a field day.”

It took all her willpower to keep her hands resting on her knees instead of reaching out to strangle her. "Do you _really_ think it's all just me spending a day in jail or something? Because it won’t be. It’s already bad enough that my _girlfriend’s_ dad helped put away some of the people from Branwen, which I’m apart of mind you, you’ll get me in _serious_ trouble. Not to mention Blake too, who is completely innocent! She won’t say anything and she’ll go down with me.”

Yang said, trying her hardest to stop her voice from trembling, only for it to break on the last word. "You can't possibly want that.”

Nebula shrugged casually, contradicting the tight set of her jaw. "I couldn't care less about what happens to her. If it gets out, then that’s her dad's decision to make, not mine. I'm not the one sending you there, I'm just the one calling her dad to tell him you've been snogging. The rest has nothing to do with me."

"It has _everything_ to do with you," She snapped, her voice getting louder with every word. "If it weren't for you, her parents would have never found out about us and everything would be okay."

"And if it weren't for _you_ , I would have never had Adam send the video to her parents," she hissed. A flush was spreading across her cheeks, her eyes ablaze with pure, unfiltered hatred as they drilled into hers. "This is your fucking fault, Yang, _all_ of it."

The words felt like a punch to the face. She wanted to leave, wanted to get up and walk out and forget everything, but she knew that she couldn't, not without consequences. 

"If you hadn't dropped me like I was nothing to you, none of this would be happening," she continued.

Yang exhaled slowly, suddenly feeling weary and exhausted and _guilty guilty guilty_. "I didn't... I didn't think."

She only laughed, a pained, bitter sound. "Exactly. After weeks together, after everything I told you, after I laid myself bare to you, you didn't think for only a second that any of it meant anything, did you? You still thought it was nothing but a hook-up, no strings attached. Right?" 

The blonde didn't have anything to reply, nothing to justify any of it as the memories returned, of her looking into her eyes and speaking the words, quiet and tender. So she just nodded.

Nebula looked up at the ceiling; in the dim light she could see tears glistening in her eyes, threatening to spill while she tried to blink them away. "I loved you, Yang. I loved you, and I told you so, and you still thought it was a game just because feelings were never part of your rules."

She fell quiet and wiped a hand over her eyes. When she finally looked at her again, the tears were gone. "And then you left me like none of it meant anything and you expected me to be fine with it. You _broke_ me and you didn't even realize. So don't you think for a second, that I'm not going to do the same to Blake if it means that I have a chance at getting you back."

"Why do you?" Yang quietly asked. "Want me back after I hurt you, I mean?”

She shook her head and shut her eyes. "I don't know. It's... it's so _fucking_ wrong, but... somehow I think I still love you."

Yang suddenly couldn't stand looking at her anymore and stared down at her hands instead, knuckles white with how hard she was clasping them together. 

Just for a few seconds everything was quiet except for the distant hum of the music from the party downstairs. Eventually, she could hear Nebula taking a deep breath before she leaned closer again. "One kiss," she softly said, her breath brushing her cheek. "C’mon, Is that _really_ too much to ask?"

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. It sounded shaky and weak and she hated it so much she wanted to scream. " _No_.”

"Alright," she said in the same sweet tone, drawing back, "Then I think I'm gonna have to make a call."

Her stomach revolted at the thought, nausea mixing with nerves, and before she realized it Yang had a hand gripping onto her shirt and dragging her closer again. She had to silently count to ten before she could finally say, "Do you promise not to tell anyone _anything_ if I do this? No lying to her dad..and you’ll leave Blake alone.”

“I do, I wouldn't have much use for that anymore," Nebula replied with a nod.

"Fine," She breathed. "Fine. One kiss and that’s fucking _it_."

There was no way she’d enjoy it. Her heart clenched just thinking about it.

She tried to think of it as a transaction. One and done, and Nebula could just go fuck off into the sea or something.

She was doing this for a reason, as much as she hated it.

She nodded again, a small smile lighting up her face when she realized she had won.

Yang slowly leaned in, but inches before their lips could brush, she pulled back. "And you won't tell anyone about this either, okay? Not your friends, not anyone else at school, and _especially_ not Blake," She said, cursing herself for sounding so unsure and shaky. 

Even if it was beneficial, she was sure Blake wouldn't understand. Hell, she doesn't even completely understand herself.

"Just stop thinking about her for _one fucking second_ ," Nebula impatiently demanded, shifting even closer. Her perfume tickled her nose, the familiar scent of vanilla. "Blake isn't _here_. She won’t even know."

"She can't."

Yang knew for a fact that if Blake knew, Nebula wouldn't pull punches in rubbing that in her face. If it came to that, she’d explain. She’d tell her how much she hated it. 

An amused little glimmer in her eyes told her that she didn't mind the idea of her finding out. "How do you think she would react? I'm sure she would be _so_ sad..."

The mere thought made her feel sick, so she just mindlessly repeated, "She can't find out.” God, she hated the words coming out of her mouth. “Or I swear to god I’ll-“

“You’ll _what_?”

“Can we just stop the talking and... just kiss me."

The faster it’s over the faster she could just _leave_.

The words felt like acid in her mouth though, but Nebula pushed her onto her back before she had the time to dwell on them. Her mouth was on hers within seconds, hot and demanding. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped tightly onto the sheets beneath her to keep herself from reaching out and pushing her off the bed. She tried to think of Blake.

Everything about this felt wrong; she wanted the long dark locks instead of short indigo waves, golden eyes instead of emerald, and she was about to pull away, when a choked little noise cut through the silence.

Nebula didn't seem to notice, but to her the small sound seemed like a gunshot in the quiet. Turning her head, Yang searched for the source, only to find herself staring into the same amber eyes that had been on her mind this entire evening.

Pressed into the mattress by Nebula’s weight, all she could utter was a weak, " _Fuck_... Blake, listen, I _swear_ \- I promise you—-“

The faunas didn't stick around to listen. She just blinked, once, twice, then turned and left.

Yang immediately tried to sit up, but there was nowhere to go with her body on top of hers. 

She breathed in, held it, and exhaled. She willed her eyes to stay their natural color and to stay calm. She didn't want to use force with her. Blake was helping her get better with that. Her and Blake both knew it wouldn't take much for Yang to get in trouble and probably end up like Raven.

Those are things she could not risk, which is why she even agreed to all of this bullshit in the first place. She was scared, she could admit that.

"Nebula, please," Yang pleaded, too far gone to even care that she was practically begging her. "I need to go talk to her-“

Her lips were rapidly back on hers before she could finish her sentence, smothering her with another kiss. 

It took a few seconds to calm herself again, so that she wouldn't hurt her. She used all of her strength, and managed to push her off and break the kiss, rolling them around so that she was on top of her. 

Nebula blinked up at her in surprise as she found herself pinned to the bed. "What are you-"

"I’m getting out of here," She said through gritted teeth, sinking her nails into the palms of her hands to stop her anger from boiling over. "And if what you say is true, you'll let me. If you really love me, you will understand that I can't do this. You got your kiss, I did what you wanted.. If you loved me you wouldn't do something so petty and risk me getting locked up with some convoluted lie. Now you have to let me go and keep your promise to not tell her dad and you will leave Blake _alone_.” She growled out on the last sentence.

The surprise in her eyes gave way to ice-cold calculation. "Alright. Under one condition." 

"What is it?" She demanded.

"This won't be the last time you meet me."

Yang stared down at her in disbelief. "I'm not fucking doing this again. You said _once_ , and that you’d leave us alone.”

"Hmm," she answered with a frosty smile, reminding her that even though she was beneath her, she still had the upper hand in the grand scheme of things. Yang wanted to wipe that smile off her face, but she knew that that would only make things worse.

It was the thought of Blake, who was probably getting farther and farther away with every second, that hastily made her say, "Whatever, I don’t care. But I’m not kissing you, I’m not doing anything with you.”

Yang pushed herself off the bed before she could reply and immediately stormed out of the room. In her hurry she almost crashed into a bunch of people on the stairs, but she didn't care, didn't stop, simply rushed on until she reached the living room.

Her heart sank when she couldn't spot Blake anywhere.

"Hey Yang," a voice somewhere beside her said. 

She started to walk without turning around. "Not now. Gotta go.”

"Why?"

When she didn't slow, a hand clasped her sleeve and forced her to turn around. Nora stared up at her with a raised brow. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Blake...um," Yang began, breaking off after just that one word. She had to take a deep breath to keep the helpless sense of panic from bubbling over. "Do you know where she is? Did you see her anywhere?"

The look on Nora’s face morphed from confusion to worry. "I last saw her maybe fifteen minutes ago? Or twenty, I dunno, why?"

Twenty minutes. So she hadn't gone and joined the others again. She had left, alone, and if something happened to her it was her fault. "I need to find her," She said, offering no explanation and finally wrestling her arm out of Nora’s grip.

The redhead stared at her for a few more seconds, then she just nodded. "Okay. I wanna help. You should take the main road."

"I- really?" She asked. "Shit, thank you. Call me if you see her, yeah?"

"Of course," Nora said. Before she turned around, she reached for her arm once more, this time to lightly squeeze her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find her. She can't have gotten far."

Yang nodded silently, then she followed her towards the front door, pushing through the crowd of moving bodies. 

By the time she reached her bike, Nora’s car was already gone. Her fingers were trembling when she fished the keys out of her pocket and started the ignition.

Since Blake had walked in on them about thirty minutes had passed. Not enough time to get too far away, should she be walking on foot. She tried to cling to that thought as she hopped on the bike.

It had started to rain while she’d been inside, the downpour wetting her body, the pattering of the raindrops on her helmet mixing with the noise of her shaky breathing. The knowledge that Blake was probably out there somewhere, drenched and cold and alone was enough to make her floor it as she took one of the roads leading to their neighbourhood.

The streetlights around here were sparse, so it was almost impossible to make out anything beside the road. After a few moments she started looking for a place to turn and drive back to see if she missed something, when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a lithe figure sitting at the side of the road. 

Yang immediately stopped, grateful that there were no cars behind her.

The bike rocked to a stop with screeching tires, but she didn't look up. Yang swallowed hard and pulled out her phone to quickly text Nora.

Then she finally hopped off of the bike and quietly neared her.

Blake was sitting with her elbows resting on her knees and her head in his hands. Next to her something was glistening in the faint glow of the streetlights down the road; only after a second glance she realized that it was a bottle of vodka.

Maybe she _was_ a bad influence.

Gathering all her strength, she carefully asked, "..Blake?”

She didn't react, gave no indication that she even noticed her.

Yang stood there, feeling raindrops trailing down her neck and her heart beating out of her chest with fear. There was nothing she could say, so she only silently sunk onto the curb next to her, careful not to move too close.

For what felt like an eternity the only sound in her ears was the rain, so quiet that she flinched when Blake suddenly spoke. "If you've come to tell me that it wasn't what it looked like, you can save your breath."

"Blake, _please_ ," She whispered. She didn't even know what she was begging for. Not forgiveness, because that was something that she did not even have for herself. Even if she did what she had to do. For Blake.

She didn't want Blake to find out the way she did, and end up thinking that her dad was right. She couldn't take that.

It was what it looked like but it also wasn't at the same time...

Maybe she wanted understanding, perhaps, seeing as it was all that she could still hope for from her. ”It... it wasn't like that, I didn't-"

"I don't want to hear it," Blake asserted. Her voice was strangely monotone, more than usual at least, and when she finally looked up, her golden eyes looked like they were frozen over, cold and hard, devoid of any emotion. 

She continued. "See, I understand you now. You get with someone and then you grow bored, so you drop them. Maybe we got too close and you got scared, like you did with everyone else. I...don't know what made me think that this was any different. I should’ve known. I’ve been warned so many times but I ignored them all.”

When Yang opened her mouth again she sounded desperate and choked up. She rarely cried or cared about a relationship this deeply, but those were just some of the things Blake brought out in her. This was the _real_ Yang, not the mask.

"It _was_ different. It _is_. I swear, Blake. I... this is so different than anything I've ever felt. When I told you I was yours, I _meant_ that wholeheartedly. And I...I had nothing but good intentions but... God, I see I fucking ruined everything, I am _so_ sorry.”

Blake remained completely silent. In the dull glow of the streetlights, she looked like a stranger, not like the girl who had been nestled against her chest only yesterday. She was a picture in black and white, harsh shadows turning her face into something alien. Drops of rain clung to her long eyelashes and trailed down her cheeks. 

What stood out the most was the emotion in her golden eyes; feline eyes that glowed bright in the dark, making her look menacing. Under different circumstances, when those enchanting eyes stared at her in the darkness of her room, they looked seductive and hypnotizing. Now? They were still beautiful, even with the sadness in them.

The sadness that Yang put there. 

The guilt was eating her alive.

The blonde couldn't hold her gaze for long. "She told me she would call your dad and I didn't- I didn't know what to do," She whispered, so quietly she couldn't even be sure she heard her. 

She was feeling sick to her stomach, still feeling the phantom touch of Nebula’s lips on hers. It made her want to vomit. "It was just one kiss but... I didn't want to kiss her, but I was so scared and then I did it and it was so wrong and I'm _sorry_ , I'm _so_ sorry. I never wanted to lose this and then I just...I-”

Yang couldn't finish her sentence because she suddenly had to double over, pressing her hands onto the wet concrete. Her entire body was shaking as she started to dry-heave and wave after wave of nausea crashed over her.

A panic attack. She got those sometimes, it’s why she was always able to help Blake with hers. The panic had already been there, though. It started earlier with Nebula’s threats. She didn't want to get in trouble, she couldn’t spend another day in jail. She _couldn't_. She refused to be Raven.

She _couldn't_!

She did what she had to do to protect herself and Blake too. Even if it was risky to their relationship. But if Yang was locked up, then they wouldn't even have a relationship at all. She thought she was doing the right thing! Nebula backing off and leaving Blake and her life alone was worth it. She realized that she’d do anything for Blake. She knew Blake wouldn't be happy about it because she might not understand. _That’s_ why she chose not to say anything.

She would _never_ cheat on Blake. The kiss wasn't something she wanted, she didn't enjoy it either. This whole thing was _for_ their relationship in the first place!

She had kissed Nebula. She’d kissed Nebula and she could still taste her lip gloss even after she violently tried to wipe it off. And..Blake thought that she didn't truly like her and she had ruined everything within minutes. She’d lost her and it was all her fault and she couldn't stop shaking, her ears were ringing and her teeth were chattering and it was all her fault and she was sorry. She was sorry. She was sorry. She was _sorry_.

_I thought I was doing the right thing, please forgive me._

"Yang.”

Blake's voice was soft and sounded a million years away, barely reaching her as she started to tremble even more.

"I'm sorry," Yang whispered, gasping for air. "I shouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have-"

"Yang," she repeated, firmer this time, and she flinched when she could feel her hand settling onto her shoulder. "Just breathe."

She tried, but there didn't seem to be enough oxygen and everything started to get a bit hazy and dark around the edges, until she suddenly felt her arms around her. 

Yang’s hands instinctively came up to hold onto Blake's arm like it was some kind of anchor. Maybe it was. Her lungs screamed for air and she tried, tried to breathe in and out, evenly and calmly, and when she couldn't, a quiet sob that she at first didn't realize was hers sounded through the silence.

"Shh, breathe. In and out. In and out. Just... just keep breathing," Blake murmured. 

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or if she sounded choked up as well, but it didn't matter as she moved a hand to the back of her head and let her rest her forehead against Blake’s shoulder. Blake was trembling, too, but her breathing was even and after a moment she tried to inhale and exhale in time with her. In and out. In and out. In and out until she was no longer hyperventilating and the world stopped spinning all around.

"You okay?" Blake hesitantly asked once she noticed she’d calmed down, and she only felt even more miserable when she realized that she was the one holding her even though _she_ was guilty, even though she made a mistake, even if she thought she was doing a good thing. She didn't deserve any of this.

It was just Yang Xiao Long, making stupid mistake after stupid mistake her entire life.

She just...didnt know how else to make Nebula stop. It wasn't like she could go beat her ass, even if she kinda wanted to. That would just be another thing used against her to send her away.

"Yea," Yang whispered and finally mustered the strength to pull away, immediately feeling a sense of loss without her arms around her.

A few feet away a car drove past them, then the deafening silence returned. She couldn't look Blake in the eye out of fear of what she would see in them.

When she eventually spoke, each word sounded like a punch to the face. "I can't forgive you...”

She had made her choice..she supposed there was no use in explaining herself.

She had no right to expect anything else anyway, so Yang only nodded, feeling her eyes burning.

Blake quickly added, "At least not yet. I... I need some time, I think." 

"Okay," she rasped, forcing herself to nod.

"Just..." From the corner of her eye she could see her running a hand over her face, looking tired and exhausted and so bitter it made something deep inside her chest ache. Her heart skipped a beat when she suddenly turned her head and met her eyes. "I just need you to know that I understand that you didn't want to do it. It's not all your fault. This entire situation is completely fucked up and there's just... nothing we can really do about it."

Her throat tightened at her words. "I wish we could stop all the hiding," She muttered. "You know, have you live with me, or get you your own place. Just anywhere except for your parents' house. Somewhere where we wouldn't have to worry about anything.”

Blake just shook her head and stared straight ahead, not caring about the wet strands of hair that fell into her eyes. "It's not that easy. Besides... I could never just do that and hurt my mom.”

She was silent again. Then she suddenly said, "You know, sometimes I think I should just let them find out and have all of this over with, if anyone tried to get you in trouble, I’d be there..but then..." She breaks off, hands clenched together in her lap.

”Blake, I don’t want you protecting me. I can handle myself..that’s why I did it...I thought I was handling things and you wouldn't have to worry anymore...”

”I remember there was this guy who used to go to our school and lived a few roads down the block, Yuma, I don't know if you know him. He was always kind of a class clown and then one summer he gained some friends that were in a gang, similar to the Branwens, and he got in trouble. He told on all of his friends, got caught talking to lawyers and officers to get less time and then..he never came back after that.”

Yang felt all the air being knocked out of her lungs when Blake turned her head and looked at her with wide eyes, suddenly looking young and helpless and _scared_. "I can't do that. Not after everything with Sun and when I only just started to accept this part of me. And my life got better. I don't ever want to live that lie again. I can't. You say you don’t want me protecting you, but that’s exactly what _you’re_ doing.”

"You won't have to," Yang explained, trying to sound more certain than she felt. "We'll find a way. I know we will. And..we’ll protect each other. I won’t let anyone get in the way of that, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to what I did.”

Blake was silent, wrapping her arms around herself. After a long moment she softly asked, "Can you take me home?"

"Of course," She replied, slowly getting to her feet and walking over to her bike.

Blake positioned herself behind her, completely soaked and with chattering teeth. She wordlessly started the ignition and sighed.

Neither of them talked during the short ride home. Blake sat completely motionless, arms wrapped around her, glazed eyes staring straight ahead. There was no way for her to tell what she was thinking about, and in the tense quiet she didn't dare ask.

Even though she doubted her parents were still up, she parked the bike a good few feet away from the house. 

Blake looked off to the side without moving; eventually, she turned and could see her swallowing hard before she silently rose and got off of the bike.

She went inside without turning around once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pitch forks down! Lol ⚔️
> 
> There’s a reason for everything. See ya next time bois. I’ve had a bit of a block so I apologize if I didn't explain Yang’s reasoning well enough. Your positive comments do make me feel better though, and it makes my day.
> 
> Much love to you all!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of exposition here.

**Blake**

The first few days after Nadir’s party were the hardest. Blake didn't eat much and slept even less, resulting in a constant feeling of fatigue and dizziness that made it hard for her to get out of bed. The days seemed to stretch endlessly, but everything that happened seemed to blur together somehow; it was all the same routine of school, work and then coming home and locking herself in her room. The worst thing was that whenever it was quiet and she was alone, the only thing she could think of was Yang, the kiss with Nebula, the look in her eyes when she had seen her in the doorway, the way she had kneeled on the wet pavement, shaking and unable to breathe. 

She knew that she had to at least try to forget about it, but she just couldn't. Yang had made herself a home in the back of her head weeks ago and now it was impossible to get her out. 

Even more so when she kept seeing her around school. She had skipped Biology this week, but that didn't mean she could avoid running into her in the corridors or on the parking lot. The worst part about it was the look on her face, so terribly hopeful every time she looked at her and then so devastated when she walked past her without more than a nod. It physically _hurt_ , but she couldn't bring herself to talk to her, not yet.

By now two weeks had passed and Blake still didn't understand what she was feeling. She didn't hate her like she had expected, and the initial disappointment had ebbed away. What she was left with was a bone-deep sense of missing her and something else she didn't understand. All she knew was that it wouldn't go away if she didn't do something about it.

+++

A few days later she woke up from her nightmare with a gasp, clutching at the sheets with shaking hands. Cold sweat was trickling down her neck and making her shirt stick to her skin. 

The sun was already peeking into the room and over the sound of her ragged breathing she could faintly hear her parents talking downstairs. A glance at her alarm clock confirmed that it was nearly time to get up anyway, so she swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked over to the bathroom.

The nightmare was a familiar one, one she’d used to have every night for a few months. She had been lucky to not have it for a while during the past year, but she wasn't surprised that it had returned tonight. After all, she knew what day it was. 

By the time she got out of the shower, she was still feeling slightly shaky, but at least somewhat refreshed. After she had put on some comfortable clothes, she crept out of her room, trying not to make too much noise to avoid her parents' attention.

Passing by the familiar white door at the end of the corridor was even harder than usual today. She stopped in her tracks in front of it and rested a hand on the cold door handle.

When she closed her eyes, she could still hear the sound of her listening to classical music behind that door when she visited. Four years ago, she had heard it for the last time. That morning she’d hung up in a hurry, too late for school and too busy to say goodbye.

She jumped back as she heard heavy steps behind her and turned around just in time to see her mom walk around the corner.

She ground to a stop when she saw her standing there, concerned amber eyes darting from her face to the door and back. "Blake, what are you doing there?"

"I... nothing," She whispered. Then she swallowed thickly and tried again, louder this time. "I was just leaving."

But before she could flee the scene, she suddenly felt her comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking her dead in the eye. "I know what day it is... Are you alright, sweetie?”

Blake almost slipped and told her that no, she wasn't okay and things weren't alright, but then she came back to her senses. This was the person who offered comforting hugs and reassuring words and she didn't want to worry her.

She took a step back. "I'm fine."

She half expected, half wished her to try again, but she just hesitated, nodded, and walked off into the other direction.

After one last look at the door behind her, she turned around and left the house in a hurry to avoid any more unpleasant encounters.

Once she was sitting in the car, she didn't take the road leading to school, but drove in the opposite direction. The route to the cemetery was a familiar one, even though she hadn't been there in a while. She spent the time it took to get there in silence, letting her thoughts wander. They inevitably started to revolve around Yang sooner or later, but by that time she was already pulling up in one of the parking spaces. 

The graveyard was small, hidden behind ivy-clad brick walls on the outskirts of town. The rusty metal gate creaked when she pushed it open and stepped inside. Bushes and trees lined the narrow path leading to the small chapel, but that wasn't the route she took. 

Instead she went straight to a more secluded corner of the cemetery, the one where the dates of birth and the dates of death on the tombstones started to be closer and closer, until they were only decades, months, weeks apart. Ragged teddy bears held watch next to weatherworn dolls, the colour drained from their once rosy cheeks and cheerful dresses to match the overcast sky. It was a disturbing sight, frozen porcelain smiles next to crosses and candles and death.

The grave she was looking for wasn't covered in toys, it was carpeted with flowers. Purple nightshades...belladonnas. It was a homage to their namesake. Since it was mildly poisonous, it had to be put there with gloves. Though the message was still loud and clear.

Seeing her name on the tombstone still gave her a jolt, even after four years. Her legs threatened to buckle at the sight, so she voluntarily sank to her knees, aware that she was almost mimicking the pose of the weeping angel that was perched in the middle of the grave.

"Hey, grandma," Blake said quietly, knowing that there wasn't a living soul near to witness her words. "How's it going up there?"

She remained silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next. Wind whispered in the leafs of the trees and caressed her cheek with icy fingers.

"Sorry that it's just me this year. I couldn't come with mom and dad. I don’t want to bring up any bad memories either." She swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat, then she muttered, "I really miss you at the moment. Like, a lot. I feel like if you were here, everything wouldn't be that bad. It's... it's really hard right now."

She breathed in, held it, and exhaled. Her and her grandmother we're close. The wise woman would always give her great advice. She would spend time with Blake every time her parents had work to do.

Talking to her like this was cathartic, it reminded her of when she was ”her little cub” and sat on her lap. They would just talk and talk. Her grandmother would always say that Blake had an old soul, that she had been in this world before. That she was ahead of her time.

It always made Blake wonder who she was in her past life, if it was true. 

When she was younger, she’d say she hoped she was a cool ninja. Her grandmother would read her palm and say that she was a hero. She always doubted that.

She couldn't bear the sight of her name carved into the stone, so she stared up at the sky instead. "Uhm... there's this girl. Yang. And I... I like her so much it kind of hurts," She whispered. "It's just that every time I think that everything's okay... that _we're_ going to be okay, something happens and then everything is terrible again. And right now I'm not sure if it's really worth it, but I also know that I don't want to be without her."

Blake fell silent, taking a deep breath. "You know, I think you'd like her, and she’d like you too. You know how you talked to me about past lives? I never really believed it, but I _swear_ it’s like I met her before...She’s passionate about a lot of things and she's really funny and smart and she's just... I wish you could have met her. You would’ve gotten along, I think."

She felt a soft smile tug at her lips at the thought. She could almost imagine them together, talking about all types of things or whatever. Maybe she’d even read Yang’s palm too. Yang hung around a lot of older people sometimes and she could easily hold a conversation with them. She was just..naturally charismatic. She was smarter than people gave her credit for. 

In the silence she could hear the creaking of the gate when someone else entered the cemetery and she closed her eyes. After a few steadying breaths she slowly got up. This had been a short visit, but just spending a few minutes here had been strangely comforting.

She walked back to the gate slowly, taking her time to look around and greet the old woman who had come there to tend to her husband's grave.

By the time she was back in the car, she didn't know what to do. Originally, she had planned to just go home afterwards, but now the thought made her skin crawl. She couldn't be there alone, not today.

In the end she instinctively drove in the direction of the school, even though she had no intention of actually going to class. 

The first four periods were already over and when she rolled onto the parking lot the break was coming to an end, the few people who had spent it outside were already filing back into the building. 

She turned the engine off and stayed in the car, unsure of what to do now, when from the corner of her eye she noticed someone leaving the school and hurrying across the parking lot. Only after a second she realized that it was Yang, her head bowed and the hood of her jacket pulled into her face as she made her way to her bike.

Getting out of the car wasn't even a conscious decision; one moment she was sitting in the driver's seat and the next she was leaping onto the concrete and rushing towards her. She could hear the engine roar to life, but before she could drive off Blake managed to grab her by the jacket.

Yang’s head whipped around almost instantly, the look on her face as if she had just seen a ghost. She blinked a few times, then her hand slowly twisted the key and the engine stopped. In the sudden silence, her soft voice rang loudly. "Blake?"

"Hey," She breathed. "We need to talk."

Yang dropped her hands and rested them on the handlebars, nodding silently, her lilac eyes never leaving her face.

"Uhm..." Blake broke off, suddenly at a loss for words. She had imagined this conversation dozens of times over the past week, but now that they were actually about to have it, she didn't know how to say what she needed to say. "Listen, I... I've been thinking-"

"..Are we breaking up?" 

She stared at Yang in surprise, realizing that the look in her eyes was fear. "What? No- no, that's not what I wanted to say at all. I just... I really missed you. So much. And I... I realized all I want is to be with you," She said. Now that she was talking, her voice sounded surprisingly firm. "But there _are_ some questions that I’m going to need answers to first, okay?"

She nodded immediately, that same hopeful little glimmer in her eyes that she had seen every time they’d met over the past two weeks. Only this time she was determined not to chase it away.

"Okay," Blake muttered. "First of all, where were you trying to go just now?”

"Home," she replied and uneasily tugged at the collar of her shirt. "I was going to skip the rest of the day, because I, uh... didn't really sleep last night. And the night before and the one before that..."

"I couldn't really sleep either," Blake quietly admitted, "Uhm... second question: Was that kiss with Nebula the _only_ time you kissed someone who wasn't me? You know, since we've been together?"

She dug her nails into the palms of her hands, dreading the answer to that question, but Yang just nodded. "Yes. I swear. I... You have to believe me, I would never do that," She declared. The look in her eyes was genuine fear that she wouldn't believe her.

Blake stared intensely at her. She saw that the silence made Yang fidget. After a while, Yang spoke up. 

”...Blake?”

”I want to believe you.”

Yang frowned, turning her head to the side, out of Blake’s view.

”I want to trust you, I _will_ trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you’ve never done anything like this before. That it was just _one_ kiss, and you didn't _want_ to do it.”

Yang slowly turned back around. Her lilac eyes were saddened, but held a strong determination in them. She gazed, unblinking, into amber. ”I would _never_ cheat on you. _Ever_. I know a good thing when I see one. I had only good intentions, I wanted her to leave us alone and that was the deal. It was only one kiss, she was the one who basically tried to maul _me._ I didn't want that. You’re the only one I want, Blake, I adore you..and I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

"Okay....I believe you." Blake was surprised how sure she suddenly was. 

She opened her mouth to ask the next question, but before she could speak a word, Yang suddenly said, "I have to tell you something because I... I don't want to lie." Blake sent her a questioning glance but she averted her eyes, staring down at her hands instead. "Nebula wants to meet me more often. I...met up with her three more times since that night because she made serious threats..and you know I’d do anything for you. I didn't kiss her again or anything like that, we didn't do anything. I would never. I just... I thought you should know. And I want you to know that it's okay if you don't want to be with me because of that. I understand if you don't."

"No," Blake replied, surprising even herself with how quickly and urgently she said it. "I still want to be with you. As long as you promise that nothing will happen between you, I'll be okay...I’ll trust you.”

Yang nodded immediately, looking like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I promise. I physically cannot kiss her again. I can't do any of that. Not with anyone but you."

Warmth spread in her stomach and she offered her a small smile. "Okay... The next question might be a little intimate, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Just for a second the hint of a grin flickered across her face. "I thought we already were pretty _intimate_."

Blake rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, idiot." Getting more serious again, she asked, "Why did you sleep around so much in the first place?"

"Oh," Yang muttered, unconsciously biting her lip. She wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but her next words sobered her immediately. "Well, uh... You know how I never really told you much about my family?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... But I did once tell you that my dad is a surgeon and that he isn't home a lot, right? Neither is my mom." She paused like she didn't know how to phrase what was about to come. "I spent most of my teen years pretty much taking care of myself and Ruby when dad didn't take her. And it’s not like I had Raven, she didn't want me anyway. The only time she showed interest was when she saw me fight and wanted me to be in her little clan. I was pretty much alone at home 24/7. It wasn't that bad, it was just... lonely, I guess. It’s part of the reason why I acted out and did so many dumbass things. Raven encouraged those ’do what you want’ tendencies and I was getting attention from her and younger me liked that.”

"So you hooked up with a few people to not feel so alone?" Blake asked, trying to follow her. 

"Kind of. I guess if you wanted to go all psychological on me you'd say that I was trying to compensate for the lack of intimacy by doing that, only that that in turn made things less intimate. Which I preferred sometimes anyway. I never really let anyone get too close. Didn't matter anyway, they were dealing with the fake party girl, it was the side that everyone liked, not the real me. That is, until I met you," she murmured, grinning, as a faint blush creept up her neck. 

"Oh," Blake muttered. "That... wasn't really what I expected."

"Yeah, most people must think I'm just a bimbo or something, when in reality it was just a dumb form of compensating." Yang grimaced and added, "And also part of the irresponsible things I did in attempt to get attention from my parents, when I was younger. Only that didn't really work. They didn't seem to care that I constantly brought someone new home or that I was slept somewhere else for nights on end."

"So then you got the attention from Raven...”

"Pretty much," she said. Glancing at her, she tried for a cheery grin and failed spectacularly. "Don't look so surprised. What responsible parent lets their kid do all of that? Raven would, because she didn't see me as her daughter, she saw me as an apprentice. I guess I was bound to be a fuck-up like her either way.”

"She was grooming you into being a Branwen.”

Yang shrugged. "I don't know, I guess. As much as I wanted her to care about me, I knew I wanted nothing to do with the clan. At least not before I had to.”

Blake was silent for a moment, letting that new piece of information sink in. Eventually she carefully asked, "So you did all of this only because of your parents and Raven?”

"A little," Yang snorted, looking amused and a little more like herself now. "I also did stupid things because it was fun and I was reckless. The sex was okay, but I never wanted anything too intimate. I haven't even done it that much, people just assume I did. When I _did_ though, a one-night stand was safer than something with strings attached.”

"Of course," She quietly echoed, still caught up in her thoughts.

The blonde was silent for a moment, then she groaned, "I weirded you out, didn't I? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shove all that in your face."

Blake only shook her head. " _Please_ , you know me. Weiss is like my sister, I _know_ about weird family dynamics. I don’t judge." They were both quiet for a moment, then she finally took a deep breath and said, "Actually, there's something I need to tell you... about my family."

"Okay," Yang said, eyeing her curiously. 

"Uhm... I really don't know where to start," She honestly said, leaning back into the bike, staring ahead and closing her eyes for a second to steady herself. "I never told you about my grandmother. She passed away.”

Yang frowned immediately. "I’m sorry.”

"It’s okay. She died four years ago, but she was my best friend," She quietly said, swallowing thickly. 

"Shit, I'm so sorry, baby." Yang muttered. She looked genuinely empathetic. Her hands fidgeted before she stood up and leaned on the bike next to Blake. "How did she pass, if you don’t mind me asking?”

"Gunshot wound." The words stung in her mouth. "She had my dad young, so she wasn't that old or anything and she liked to go into town. She took her afternoon walk through the bad side of Vale and...she got mugged. Some teenager with a hoodie threatened her with a gun, so she gave him everything she had. The police looked at the footage and at some point, his hood fell off as he shook from fear, it was out of the camera’s view but apparently _she_ saw it clearly. He panicked and...pulled the trigger. They never caught him.”

Yang’s eyes widened, the sympathy was evident in them. "That’s...horrible. God, no wonder your dad practically hates me.”

Blake made a noncommittal sound. That wasn't enough of an excuse for her, Yang wasn't even like that. 

She softly added, "After my parents found out about it, they were distraught. It was my dad’s mom so he took it the worst.”

"God, Blake..." Yang murmured. "..What was she like?"

Blake looked at her in surprise. No one had ever asked her that. People were usually so intent on the crime itself and the way she had died that they forgot to care about her as a person. Her grandma had been more than a news article, but no one wanted to know that. It’s why she barely told anybody. She didn't have many people to confide in besides Sun or Weiss but they didn't know her like her family did. Her parents didn't want to talk about it. Her dad especially hated brining it up whatsoever. It’s like if he didn't speak about it, that it wouldn't be real. He acted like it didn't happen.

But Blake always knew in the back of her mind that that was one of the reasons why he treated certain people the way he did. Why he didn't trust so easily.

Her words were carefully picked when she answered. "Like I said, she was my best friend. Other people might think that it’s lame for your grandma to be your best friend but I didn't care. She had anxiety, and went through depression too, it runs in the family and we both got the short end of the stick, so she just..understood me. She was wise and always gave me great advice, she told me the truth about the world, and I believed everything she said. I wanted to be just like her back then, I looked up to her. She was really into palm reading and astrology and all that and she would tell me about a past life every time I saw her.” She paused, feeling Yang’s encouraging gaze on her. It was comforting.

Blake continued, smiling a little at the memory. ”She’d say that whatever hardships I’d go through in the future, it’d be fine in the end. That, the sun always comes out after the storm is over and the day is done. That my future would be bright. There were times where I was in a dark place and I’d just think about her words and I’d feel better. I’d always put little purple things in my room because she said that it was what my aura radiated and that it’d bring me good luck.”

"You don't have to say more than you want to," Yang muttered, but now that she had started talking it was like some sort of dam had broken and the words just continued to spill out.

"I was fourteen when she... When it happened. I came home after school and the first thing I noticed was that my dad wasn't at work and that I’ve never saw him breakdown like that before.”

Yang was silent for a moment. Then she reached for her hand and gently held onto it, giving it a squeeze. It was the first instant of physical contact in two weeks, and it was more comforting than any words could have ever been. She always grounded her.

"My dad... he changed somewhat after that," She said. "He completely engrossed himself into his work; stayed longer hours. I was alone at home all day. They sent me to counselling, but I didn't want to talk to some shrink about it. I wanted to talk to _them_. But the week after her death, they stopped speaking of her. Dad still doesn’t and just pretended nothing happened. He’d be extremely overprotective and barely let me go anywhere sometimes. He got sad if I did anything remotely bad and didn't want me around certain people. People handle grief differently though, so I sort of understood at the time.”

"Jeez," Yang muttered.

"Yeah," She quietly agreed, "But me, mom, and his work were the only things that kept him going so well."

The blonde shook her head slightly, rubbing her thumb over the back of her hand in small consoling circles. "I don't understand..not everyone is like that. People make mistakes, like me. That shouldn't affect how someone views your character right? That generalization is kind of unfair.”

When she answered her voice didn't sound bitter or angry, only tired. "Because he’s scared, I suppose. More so the moment he found out about us...and even more after he found out about your past.”

Close as they were sitting, she could hear the sound of Yang gulping, her eyes fixed on their intertwined hands. Finally, she muttered, "I know you said your grandmother went through the same things you did, but you’re not alone. You're so fucking strong, you know that? Stronger than anyone else I know. Don’t let the situation get you down, because no matter what happens I’ll be there for you regardless.”

Blake didn't reply, afraid that if she did, she would honestly start to cry. It was funny that it hadn't been any of the other things that she had endured over the past few weeks, but Yang’s genuine kindness that was the thing that brought her close to tears. All that she could do was smile timidly at her while she squeezed her hand.

"Hey... can I ask a question too?" Yang suddenly asked, shifting a little in her seat.

"Of course."

"Is it okay if I kiss you?"

The blonde looked at her with wide eyes, her whole body practically buzzing with nervousness.

She answered by curling a hand around the back of her neck and finally closing the distance between them. 

Kissing her after such a long time felt like coming home, warm and soft and sweet, everything about this familiar and comforting. Yang’s right hand was still holding onto hers while the other found its way into her hair, carding through it. It was perfect, every inch of her tingling.

When she eventually had to back out for air, Yang refused to let go and instead rested her forehead against hers, her soft breath warm against her cheek. "I was so scared I'd never get to do this again."

"Yeah," She muttered. "Me too."

Yang’s nose brushed against hers when she leaned back to look down at her. "So we're... We're okay?"

"Yes," Blake stated firmly.

They were interrupted by the distant ringing of the school bell and only moments later the doors flew open as the first students started to leave.

She reluctantly let go of Yang and straightened up. "I should probably go before someone sees us."

Before she left, she pressed another quick kiss to her lips, leaving Yang stunned as she walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S Kudos to you if you caught some of the lines I used from a Volume 3 episode! 💛


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might see Chap 32 soon as well.  
> It’s already mostly written. The idea has been thrown around or what have you, while I had a block. That one will be Bean’s chapter 😄

The next day, after catching Weiss up on everything that had happened with Yang, she told her, "Hey, my parents will be out tonight. I was thinking we could possibly have a sleepover or something? We could also invite Pyrrha, Nora, Coco, etcetera. Oh, and Yang, of course."

A smile spread across Blake’s face. "Can you ask her?"

Weiss nodded, but there was a weird look on her face as she did so.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Well... it's just..." Weiss huffed and adjusted her skirt. "Every time I tried to talk to her over the last few days, Nebula was around. And Pyrrha told me that she spends some afternoons with her, too..."

Her jaw hardened at the thought of that. "Apparently she's taking what she can get, now that she has some control over her."

Weiss opened her mouth and spoke, but her reply got drowned out by the sound of the school bell announcing the start of the next period.

Blake groaned and adjusted the strap of her bag on my shoulder. The next class was Biology. She had spent the better part of last night working on the presentation and had read it so many times that she knew the words by heart by now, but the thought of presenting it in front of the others made her skin crawl.

"Are you coming?" Weiss inquired, pointing towards the school entrance.

She followed her inside wordlessly, going over the text once again in her head.

Her loathing of presentations and speaking in front of strangers in general had started around the same time as her anxiety got worse. The shrink she’d been seeing back then, had said that an anxiety disorder, like Generalized Anxiety, wasn't rare after a traumatic experience. Since Blake had already had a form of social anxiety, it only made it worse. She had been dreading this day for the past week now, knowing that she would have to speak for at least five minutes with everyone listening and staring at her.

Just as she’s been helping Yang with her temper, Yang has tried to help with her anxiety. Being the introvert she is, hanging around Yang’s friends, who are now _her_ friends, has helped. Their chaotic extroverted energy has helped her come out of her shell more. Ren is pretty much the only other introvert, but he isn't the shy kind. He’s just reserved and quiet. He helps the group calm down sometimes when it gets too much for her. She’s not really _that_ shy either, she just doesn’t like a lot of attention on her and prefers to keep to herself. It gets overwhelming.

She simply does not like feeling helpless, and being in a situation that she can’t control or predict or intellectually solve makes her feel _helpless_.

She tries her best, though. She just can’t help it sometimes. As Yang tells her, _your disorder doesn't define you_.

Blake inhaled, held it, and exhaled.

_It doesn't define me._

When she and Weiss slithered their way into the classroom only seconds before Oobleck waltzed in, her eyes darted to the last row immediately. As usual, her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Yang, and then continued to beat twice as fast. She wondered if it would always be like this, or if she would someday get used to this giddy feeling.

Yang was on her phone, strands of blond hair falling into her eyes as she cradled her chin in one hand. Her mouth was curled into the tiniest smile, making her wonder what she was looking at on the device.

As if she had sensed her staring, she looked up just then. Their eyes met almost instantly and Yang’s lips broke into a secretive grin.

She smiled back timidly and started to walk towards her, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, gripping so hard that she spun around with a startled yelp. To say that she was surprised to see Nebula would have been a lie.

As always, there was a cruel sneer playing around her lips. "Watch where you're going," she said, nodding towards Yang, who was watching them warily. She looked like she was about to get out of her seat, so she lightly shook her head at her, stopping her. "I don't think that's where you're supposed to sit." 

Blake slapped her hand away and walked off to where Weiss was sitting without another word. When she turned around again, Yang wasn't looking at her, too busy glaring at Nebula.

The first few minutes of class went by and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach grew, accompanied by a nervous fluttering in her chest. It wasn't only because of the knowledge that Nebula was sitting next to Yang, so close that she was almost in her lap, but also because she knew she had to give her presentation in the next few minutes.

By the time her name got called, she felt like she was about to choke. She went up to the front of the class without looking at anyone, keeping her head down and her eyes on her notes.

Oobleck silenced the class and told her to begin.

Blake took a shaky breath and willed herself to face the students in front of her. Her voice sounded thin even to herself when she started. "Dust is a crystallized substance developed in earlier centuries, but got popularized in the 1970s as its use spread. Uh..."

She swallowed, ears folded down, and looked around for a moment. Everyone was gaping at her with more or less bored faces. Sun and Weiss both seemed slightly worried. The only person looking remotely friendly was Yang. She gave an encouraging smile and gestured for her to continue.

"Um... Common uses for Dust were akin to fossil fuels. The substance got popularized after it was discovered to bring forth a sense of hallucinogenic euphoria upon consumption...”

Whispering arose in the last row, making her look up from her notes.

"Can you understand what she’s sayin’?"

"Why is she talking like that?"

"Am I supposed to take notes of this gibberish?"

Her breath quickened, until it came in short pants. The urge to sprint out of the class was overwhelming, but she knew that would ruin her grade, so she stayed where she was.

"There’s also-" She muttered, but before she could finish the sentence, Nebula cut in.

"Hey, I didn't understand anything you just said... Could you repeat it please? And try to talk a little louder."

Approving murmurs sounded, so she cleared her throat and tried again: "I _said_ that Dust is..."

"Louder," Nebula demanded again.

Blake looked over at her smirking face. She didn't seem to notice the dirty looks Yang sent her. Or maybe she just didn't care.

"Dust-fueled machinery-"

"Sweetie, no one can understand you," she said.

”Hey, _sweetheart?”_ Yang said, staring directly at Nebula.

To which the indigo-haired girl faced her in response, smiling.

”Why don’t you shut the fuck up?”

”Xiao Long!”

”Sorry, Oobleck, but my patience was running pretty thin. I don’t know what to tell ya.”

For a few seconds, Blake grinned at the blonde, who gave her a wink. Then her gaze dropped to the sheet with notes in her hand. She tried to read the next sentence, but her vision seemed to blur. The letters were nothing but swirls her brain refused to decode. None of it made sense.

Her heart was racing, her tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of her mouth. More and more people started to grow impatient and whispered loudly, their voices like a swarm of hornets in her ears.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before a single word came out, another voice beat her to it.

"Shut up, _damn!_ What the hell is wrong with you that you can't just let her talk? What, are we in preschool? And if you have a _problem_ with that, I _dare_ you to come to me about it.”

Barely suppressing a flinch, Blake looked over at Yang again. She was still sitting in her seat, but her right hand was balled into a fist; knuckles white where it was resting on the table. Even from where she was standing she could see that her eyes were red and burning with annoyance. 

They were working on her anger issues, but Yang simply had a short fuse. Especially with things she was passionate about.

"Again. _Language_ , Ms. Xiao Long. Keep it down," Oobleck ordered from where he was sitting at his desk, immediately making Yang’s head whip in his direction.

"Oh, really," she ground out, ignoring the look Blake sent her. Yang was going to earn herself more detention if she kept talking, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest. "You're just sitting there while everyone makes it impossible for Blake to give her presentation but when I say a _’bad word’_ you suddenly care?"

"She’s right," Pyrrha cut in before Oobleck could even open his mouth. "They’re bothering her to the point where she can't even complete her task and you’re not doing much about it.” 

A few tables in front of her, Weiss nodded in agreement. "Right, not to mention the lack of attention you pay to what's going on with the students here in general. I mean, do you have any idea about what's been happening here the past few weeks? Blake and Yang-"

"Really, Weiss?" Blake slowly turned her head to look at Nebula. "Are you _sure_ that this is the time and place to address that?" Looking at Oobleck, Nebula smiled tensely. "I'm _sorry_ that my simple request for Blake to speak louder caused so much unnecessary commotion. Please, let's just forget about this and continue with the class."

"No one fucking believes your act, _Nebula_ ," Nora suddenly snapped, making not only the students, but also Dr. Oobleck stare. 

"Quiet, everyone!" he said, slowly getting to his feet. "What in God's name is going on with you today? Is there anyone else who'd like to further disturb my class and put up a fuss about this?"

" _Yea_ , actually." Blake had to fight a smile when Sun suddenly spoke up. "What you're doing isn't fair, dude. Nebula should be the one getting reprimanded, _not_ Yang. All she did was speak facts.” He said in his calm, aggravated voice.

"What they said," Coco said, slouching in her chair with apparent disinterest. "And if you see an issue with standing up for her, then I'll _gladly_ show myself to detention."

”Yeah, same here.”

”Same.”

”Me too.”

”My children have spoken.” Coco announced with a nod of her head.

After that, silence fell over the classroom. Blake’s heart felt like it was about to burst when she glanced at her friends and then at Oobleck, who looked completely taken aback.

"Well," he finally said, awkwardly clearing his throat, "I suppose I owe you an apology then, Blake. As for you, Nebula, I will have to give you detention if this behavior repeats. Now, Ms. Belladonna, if you could please continue with your presentation?"

She quickly nodded. "Yeah, sure. Right, uh...For years, Dust has become the direct competitor to fuel companies that produce things such as oil...”

This time, no one uttered a word. The entire room was quiet and listening attentively, which usually would have only made her even more nervous, but the encouraging smiles of her friends and the echo of their words gave her the strength to get through the rest of the presentation. Yang put two fingers on her heart, then brought it to her lips, and kissed them before pointing them at Blake.

She blushed. She was so stupid... but it made her smile. 

She continued the presentation without fail, filled with a courage that she didn't know she had in her. Maybe it wasn't just that, maybe her friends gave her pieces of their own, as they often did, building Blake into the person they know she could be.

She was done only seconds before the bell rang and everyone started to get up. Oobleck beckoned her over to his desk to give her grade.

Leaning back in his seat, he said, "Alright, Belladonna. What you said was great, informative, _how_ you said it needs some improvement, alright? Loosen up, don't be so nervous."

Having heard this dozens of time over the years, she just nodded silently.

"It's a B," He said. 

"Thank you," Blake muttered, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief.

He dismissed her thanks with a wave of his hand. "Don't thank me, child, that was all you."

Not knowing what to reply, she was about to turn around, when he added, "Quite the bold posse of defenders you've got there. You're lucky to have friends like that."

Blake couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Yeah.”

Oobleck regarded her for a few more seconds, then he made a shooing motion. "What are you waiting for, get out of here. And work on your delivery! Next time I see you giving a presentation it better be an A."

She didn't hang around to wait for what else he had to say but immediately headed towards the door, surprised when she saw Yang still waiting there.

However, upon reaching her she quickly noticed that Nebula was beside her, clinging to her arm with a dark expression before Yang yanked her arm back.

Blake warily looked from her to Yang and then back again. "What do you want?"

"I heard that you'll be having a little slumber party tomorrow," she spat. "I just wanted to let you know that Yang and I will be having a conversation. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait for her. Might get late."

Her good mood vanished immediately, making room for the familiar sense of helplessness as she looked at Yang. 

”It isn't what-”

Nebula dragged her away before Yang could finish, but she couldn't stop her from brushing a hand over Blake’s lower back in passing and softly muttering, "I'll _be_ there after, baby.”

Nodding wordlessly, she tried her best to return her strained smile, only for it to shatter the moment she was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t know why two of these chapters popped up but I fixed it. Sorry if your comment got deleted!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and a few others have already been mostly written so you might sporadically see those be posted too.  
> Sorry for not posting them yet! Some things had to be gone over again. 😁
> 
> Enjoy! Your comments always help a lot. 💛

Weiss was awaiting them at her house at eight in the evening. Velvet, Coco and Blake drove there together in her car. It was a ride full of longing stares and winking whenever they made eye contact.

"How’re you doing?" Weiss asked as she hugged them. "Do come in. You can drop your things off in the living room. I put some mattresses and blankets there... My parents shouldn't be home for the entire weekend."

"What’s up," Coco said. "Thanks for the invite.”

Weiss just smiled. "Don't mention it. Just please keep the more...risque PDA to a minimum.”

Coco nodded, smirking all the while.

Blake grinned and shoved her inside, then closed the door behind her. To her surprise, Pyrrha was already there when she entered the living room. She was lounging on one of the couches with a book in her hand like she had been there all day and only looked up when Velvet went to sit next to her.

"Blake, are you helping me with the drinks?" Weiss asked over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.

She followed her obediently and started cutting some limes at her command while she scooped ice into some glasses. "So, Pyrrha has been here all afternoon?" She asked casually.

Weiss looked up from the task at hand. "Yes, we were going over notes for our classes. She really is brilliant. Surprisingly, some of the notes she had were from Yang. I didn't know she was so...well-spoken.”

"Yeah, she’s pretty goofy sometimes but she’s actually really smart.” Blake said, smiling to herself.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "There you go, gushing again.”

"What, I can’t talk nice about my girlfriend?”

”You can, you just do it _all the time_.” Weiss huffed, but a genuine smile was on her face.

Blake walked off, laughing, instead of replying. She headed back into the living rooms, where the others were sitting, and set the drinks down on the table. Weiss followed shortly after, bringing some more snacks and bottles.

She sat down on a couch with her while on the other side of the room, Coco and Velvet were sitting so close to each other that their legs were touching. She was glad to see that Nora and a few others had followed the invitation as well; she was sitting next to Coco and greeted her with an enthusiastic wave.

Weiss passed around the drinks, and soon the second round was tackled and cheeks were tinted pink with ienbriation. 

When everyone except for Velvet, Coco and herself was slightly tipsy, Coco eventually said: "Hey, I think we should play something fun. Anyone up for spin the bottle?"

For a moment, everyone looked at her in surprise. They were obviously trying to figure out why the hell she was interested in some random make-out session. Soon it dawned on them that Coco would just have fun simply from the suffering of others. 

"I..suppose.” Weiss mumbled reluctantly.

"Why not?" Pyrrha agreed and reached for an empty coke bottle. "Who wants to start?"

As expected, Nora was the first one to raise her hand. "I'll do it. I’m obviously taken, so it doesn't mean anything anyways. Especially not with you losers." She joked, giggling.

Coco chuckled and handed her the bottle. Nora looked around at all of them once, then spun the bottle so hard it almost rolled off the table. Eventually, it stilled.

"Well, that backfired," Coco whined.

"Pft, It wouldn't be the first time." Someone muttered.

"I was _drunk_ and it was a bet!” Nora exclaimed, sticking her tongue out.

"True," Coco confirmed. "You’re straight anyway, who cares.” Then she turned to Velvet. “Do you care?”

“I do not.”

“Let’s get it done then.”

Nora huffed and got up from the couch.

Coco had a quite a few inches on her, so the latter had to get onto her toes and Coco had to bend down awkwardly. Nora seemed like she didn't know what to do with her hands. In the end she carefully placed them on Coco’s shoulders and looked up expectantly.

Coco seemed like she was trying not to laugh when Nora glared: "I hate you so much right now."

"I know. That's what makes this so funny," The brunette responded.

Nora’s reply died in her throat when Coco’s lips grazed over hers.

It wasn't much more than that, so it could barely even be called an actual kiss. 

"Well, that went exactly as horrible as expected," Nora said as she flopped back onto the couch. 

They all laughed, watching as she downed half of her drink in one gulp.

"I'll spin it next," Pyrrha announced.

Everyone's attention was back on the bottle within seconds, observing it slow down until it was barely spinning anymore.

Blake watched it coming to a stop right in front of her. Without thinking about it, she grabbed Jaune’s collar and dragged him in front of her, so that the bottle was pointing at him instead.

Jaune gave an indignant noise. Then he realized what had happened and glanced over at Pyrrha with a look that could only be described as terrified on his face.

"That's cheating, Blake," Pyrrha commented, unfazed, and crossed her arms. "Should I be offended?"

"You should be happy that I'm not unleashing Yang’s jealousy on you if she finds out we kissed," Blake replied.

They both knew that Yang probably wouldn't have taken it seriously anyway; there really wasn't much for her to worry about there. Still, Pyrrha didn't bother pointing that out. 

Instead, she got up from her seat and walked over to where Jaune was sitting. Tracing one finger along his jaw, she said: "Alright. What do you say, Jaune?"

The blonde gulped visibly. When he answered, his voice was lower than usual. "S-sure."

"Alright then," Pyrrha laughed, but there was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

Blake could almost feel how everyone in the room was holding their breath when Jaune awkwardly pulled Pyrrha onto his lap. She wrapped her legs around him and held his face in both her hands.

Jaune only looked up at her with hooded eyes. Then, he muttered, attempting to sound more confident than he felt: "Let’s, uh, let’s do it then."

Pyrrha didn't hesitate any longer and leaned down to kiss him. Jaune’s eyes were closed even before their lips touched. His hands moved on their own accord, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other resting on her waist.

Blake looked away after a few seconds to give them some privacy. Sun was smiling wide and held a hand out for her to high-five him. She did so happily.

It took only about a minute until they finally separated, both beaming.

"I think that's enough spin the bottle for today," Velvet said, shaking her head.

Pyrrha nodded and started to get up.

Blake couldn't hold back a smile as she looked at all of them like this, happy and carefree for once.

It would've been perfect, if there hadn't been someone missing. "Does anyone know when Yang will be here?"

Just like that, the blissful smiles vanished. Nora and Pyrrha exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Eventually, Nora said: "She didn't say how long she'd be staying out."

When she saw the look on her face, Pyrrha quickly added: "Don't worry, Yang said she'd try to be here as soon as possible."

Blake nodded silently and looked down at her hands. Guilt was a sharp knife twisting between her ribs; it was because of her that she wasn't here with the rest of them, laughing and having fun. 

"Hey, it's not your fault, alright?" Coco suddenly said.

Her head snapped up in surprise. Coco Adel wasn't one to go out of her way to console somebody. She was too cool for that, and did her own thing. Hearing that sentence out of her mouth now was only a little unexpected, but welcomed.

"It's her choice. You're not forcing her to do it. Nebula is," Coco continued. "She’s doing this for herself, too. She needs you as much as you need her. I know that I'd probably do the same for Velvet, if I had to."

Blake didn't reply, intently studying her hands.

"Well, I'm going to get some more drinks," Weiss said to break the awkward silence. "You all can pick a movie while I'm gone."

Soon, she returned, but she returned to chaos.

It took a while for Blake and Sun to agree on a movie. In the end, Sun tickled her until she, gasping for air, told him to just _play the_ _fucking first part of the movie already!_

"Was that so hard?" Sun asked victoriously.

"Yeah, whatever...we’ll watch your shitty comedy," Blake answered with a grumpy scowl.

Sun only chuckled and leaned over to ruffle the hair between her ears, which was enough for her to roll her eyes and laugh as well.

+++

Half-way through the movie, Blake started to grow impatient. It was past eleven now and no one had heard from Yang. Nora was already dozing off every few minutes, Jaune was jabbing her to keep her awake every time her eyes fell shut. The rest weren't doing any better. Everyone was slowly but surely starting to nod off. Except for her. She was on edge and couldn't even think about sleep as long as Yang wasn't here. She needed to know that she was okay.

So when the end credits started to roll, she jumped up from her seat and headed for the door to the hallway.

Before she could leave the room, though, Sun called after her. "Blake? Where ya going?"

She turned around, her hand still on the door handle, and said: "I'm going to pick Yang up. I had enough of Nebula’s bullshit for the night.”

"You sure that's a good idea?" Weiss asked.

"Yes. I'm not going to just let her keep me away from her all night. She is not hers."

Coco nodded with an almost approving look and got up. "Alright. I'm gonna come with you. Just in case you need some help."

She stared at her in surprise. "Why?"

"'Cause I'm the only of these idiots who isn't completely plastered," she replied.

"That's a cheap way to act like you don't care, Coco," Nora muttered, already half-asleep.

Instead of a reply, Coco threw a cushion at her and walked up to Blake. "Are you coming or what?"

The faunas nodded and followed her outside to her car.

Coco apparently knew where Yang was from texting her earlier and drove there without speaking another word. She pulled up to the curb in front of a bar and motioned for her to follow her.

The bar was packed, which made it even harder to find Yang. Coco gently grabbed a hold of her the second they stepped through the door.

"What are you doing?" Blake implored in confusion when she suddenly stopped and put her hands on her shoulders, turning her, but made no move to follow.

"She’s over there," she said with an expression she couldn't quite make out behind her aviators, and pointed over the shorter girl’s head at a slouched figure sitting at the far end of the bar counter.

Blake thanked her quietly and crossed the short distance to where the blonde was sitting. She was wearing her leather jacket and was hunched over a glass of... _what was that, whiskey?_

When she sank onto the seat next to her, Yang didn't react in the slightest.

She meant to say it firmly, but instead it came out as a tentative question when she said: "Yang?"

Yang slowly looked up from her drink.

Blake winced when she saw that her eyes were reddened and her face blank.

"What are you doing here?" Yang whispered. She looked like she couldn't believe she was here and reached out to take her chin in her hand as if to confirm if she was real.

"I'm taking you home," Blake answered. "Where is she?"

"Went home an hour ago."

"What... what are you still doing here then?" She studied her face worriedly.

Yang was _clearly_ hammered, even though she had to drive home since Nebula had left her there. She could only guess why she had gotten so drunk nevertheless. It was obvious that _something_ was making her want to drink herself down the drain.

"I didn't want you to see me like this," Yang replied softly, staring into her drink with glassy eyes.

Blake grabbed it and set it down on the counter out of her reach. Then she inched closer and turned her chin with her fingertips so she could study her face. "It's okay. Yang, look at me, it's fine," She muttered. "What did she do?"

"Nothing," She mumbled. When she continued looking at her, waiting for a real answer, Yang suddenly pushed her hand away and looked the other way. " _Nothing_ happened, okay? Just let it go. I don’t- I don’t wanna be in the back of a car again.”

Of course she didn't believe her, not for a second, not when her voice sounded so defeated and her eyes could barely meet hers.

It was the first time she was with her right after she had been with Nebula. Now she wondered if she had been like this all the other times before, too.

Blake wanted to know what it was that she would have to kill Nebula for, but not right now, not when Yang looked like she was dancing at the edge of a complete breakdown. "It’s okay, you aren't going anywhere... You can tell me about it tomorrow, okay?

Yang just nodded. When she looked at her again, the fear had vanished from her features. "Are you okay?" 

"Am _I_ okay?" Blake retorted incredulously. " _I'm_ fine."

"Good," The blonde muttered and smiled tiredly. "Then it was worth it."

And that was the sentence that broke her. She honestly felt like crying, but instead she gripped tightly onto the front of her jacket and pulled her against her. Having her this close was a familiar thing by now, but this time it was her holding Yang, not the other way around. Yang tended to give more than receive, and never asked for anything in return.

But as Blake had said: _then who will take care of you?_

One hand was on Yang’s back to steady her, the other rested on the taller girl’s head when she buried her face against her neck.

She almost didn't hear her words, drowned out by the noise of the music and the people talking around them. She rather felt it in the way her lips brushed over her skin when she said it. "I-I...” She paused, hiccuping. ”I love you.”

Blake’s eyes widened at the unexpected admission. It felt like her heart was swelling to twice its size when Yang looked up at her, eyes open and _so_ very vulnerable.

"I love you too," Blake answered just as quietly. The words felt strange on her tongue, but in a good way. It was all new, but she’d never felt more sure about anything in her life.

From someone who hated being defenseless, who wore her heart on her sleeve and created a mask to hide that, from someone who ran away from any chance at a serious relationship...those three words held a lot of weight. It meant a lot to her that Yang voluntarily dropped her defenses and trusted her with her heart. In return, Blake gave her hers; fragile in state, similar in writing. 

_Take it, it’s yours. It’s always been yours. Please don’t break it._

Even if Yang was drunk, the emotion in her eyes couldn't have looked any more sober. Blake had a feeling that she knew exactly what she was saying, and trusted that she meant every word.

Yang’s hand reached up longingly to tangle in her curls. She gently guided her to her lips. 

For a second, she thought about all the people around them and what they would think, but as soon as her tongue flicked over her lower lip, there was nothing else but Yang against her. Blake returned the same desperation with eagerness. A quiet whimper slipped past Blake’s lips as her hands tugged in her hair. She could feel her smiling against her mouth in response. They kissed slowly, _passionately_ , and soon Blake grabbed a hold of her jacket. She shivered as Yang’s fingers danced across her back to her waist. 

This was what Blake had been _feening_ for all day, what she had thought about during the movie and spin the bottle; the feeling of soft lips on hers, hands burying into her hair and holding her close, the scent of leather and citrus and _Yang_ , the softness in her edges and the unconditional _trust_. Blake had known she was an addict since the very beginning, and Yang didn't mind giving her her fix. She just had that affect on her.

It may have been lust and attraction at one point, but they both knew it was so much more than that now. 

She _loved_ her.

Yang sucked her lip into her mouth and Blake moaned into the kiss as her tongue probed around. Her mouth always promised something dangerous; excitement. Soon the blonde pulled back, still only inches away, to rest her forehead on hers. She spoke, low and dangerous, with heated breath. “Baby...”

Blake’s vibrating phone against her thigh startled both of them into letting go of each other fully.

It was probably a good idea, considering the state Yang was in, she would’ve probably taken it too far. As interesting as that sounded, Blake wasn't too keen on becoming an exhibitionist.

Yang watched her as she answered the call with an impatient: " _What_?”

"Blake, is everything alright?" Weiss asked. "You've been away for a long time now. Did something happen?"

"No... No, we're fine," She answered and absentmindedly ran her thumb over her slightly swollen bottom lip. "We're coming now." She ended the call before Weiss could reply and got up from her seat. "The others are waiting for us. We should go."

Yang nodded and got to her feet. She quickly wrapped an arm around her middle to keep her from tripping, since she was more than a little tipsy, and steered them to the front door.

On the way there, Coco appeared out of nowhere and trailed behind them.

"What were you doing?" Blake asked over her shoulder.

"That one girl over there wanted my number," Coco said nonchalantly. "Didn't give it to her, but I found that even though I'm taken, talking to her was better than watching you both eye-fuck each other.”

Once they were outside, she dug Yang’s keys out of her back pocket and went to unlock the car.

Coco stayed with Yang, and even though she had acted unfazed all night, she could hear her quietly asking if Yang was okay with genuine concern in her voice.

+++

Coco arrived back at Weiss’ house at the same time that they did. When she reached for the door bell, she stopped her hand and fished a key out of a flowerpot on the porch instead.

She had been right in her assumption that the others were already sleeping: when they snuck into the living room, everything was silent except for the quiet noises of the TV.

Everyone was mostly laid out somewhere, asleep.

”What didya guys even do?”

Blake hushed Yang’s slurring with a finger on her lips and whispered: "We played drunk spin the bottle and things got a little out of hand."

Yang stared at them for a few more seconds before she shrugged and flopped down on another mattress.

She looked around the room and spotted Sun and Weiss on the couch. She wasn't sure if they had noticed, but apparently Weiss had fallen asleep with her head next to his as Sun snored.

They looked completely at peace right now and she didn't have the heart to wake her friends up, so she only took one of the blankets and covered them as best as possible.

When she turned back around, Coco was already snoring in one of the couches. Velvet maneuvered herself to rest her head in her lap. Sensing her presence, the taller girl draped an arm over her as she slept upright.

Blake honestly wondered how someone could sleep sitting up like that.

Yang had stripped herself of her jacket and shirt, leaving her in a sports bra. She was looking at Blake expectantly, so she hurried over to her and snuggled up against her under another blanket. The blonde wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against her chest, comfortingly warm.

Just before she dozed off, she felt lips press a quick kiss onto her shoulder, her neck, and one on the top of her head between her ears. Those same ears flicked as she drunkenly whispered against her neck, so quiet that she wasn't sure if it was real or just her imagination. 

"You know, _someday_ we'll be able to sleep like this every night."


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you are people..., you asked for this. 
> 
> Now put the pitchforks down....slowly...

Blake awoke to the sound of muffled laughter and hushed voices. When she blinked into the dim light piercing through the closed curtains, the first thing her eyes found was Yang. She was still sound asleep, one hand resting under her cheek, the other loosely grasping onto the last bit of blanket she hadn't stolen from her.

She scrambled to her feet and, feeling slightly guilty, pulled the covers up to her chin. She smiled sleepily and nestled deeper into the pillows.

Grinning sweetly (She tended to do that a lot when Yang was around), she leaned down and planted a peck on her cheek. Yang didn't do as much as stir, so she gave up on her and chose to let her sleep instead.

None of the others were in the living room anymore, so she followed the noises into the kitchen.

"Hey, sleepyheadass," Nora greeted when she entered the room. She was sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Next to her was Sun, who looked significantly less bright-eyed; his ruffled blond hair was falling into his face but failed to conceal his tanned skin and the dark shadows under his eyes. "Mornin’," he muttered. At least she _guessed_ that was what he tried to tell her through his yawn.

Nora chuckled and set her cup of coffee down in front of him. "You should drink that, blondie. You look _awful_."

"Shut up," Sun groaned, but gulped down some of it nonetheless. "I'm never drinking alcohol again."

"Hah. Lightweight," Nora teased and snatched her mug back.

"I'm not a _lightweight_ , you can ask Blake!"

"Whatever you say ya big baby," She grinned and pinched his cheek, only to get her hand slapped away. 

Blake shook her head with an amused smile and went to pour a cup of coffee for herself. She may have preferred tea, but she felt like she needed something stronger. As she waited for the coffee machine to spill some of the bean water that everyone was addicted to, the door opened and Pyrrha strode into the room, followed by a breeze of floral perfume.

She looked more awake than should be humanly possible at this time and after having an ungodly amount of drinks. She was already fully dressed. Even her make-up was flawless, not that she wore much or even needed it.

Coco and Velvet were only a few steps behind her. Blake sent Coco a questioning look when she noticed the annoyed scowl on her face. No, annoyed wasn't the word. Frustrated.

She just shook her head at her in reply and went to pour a concerning amount of sugar into her cup at the counter, effectively blocking the way to the cupboard. Instead of asking her to move a little, Velvet came up right behind her and stretched to get a mug from the cupboard above her head, accidentally pressing up against Coco’s back in the process.

Even from where Blake was standing, she could hear her inhale sharply. The next thing she saw from the corner of her eye, was Coco spinning around and tightly gripping onto Velvet's hips.

"Can you stop teasing already?" she growled.

Velvet smirked up at her and leaned forward to set her cup down on the counter. "Make me." She said, taking the brunette’s aviators off of her face and putting them on.

Blake immediately turned her head away when Coco caught her lips in a kiss, and went to turn the radio on to drown out the noises.

Jeez, were she and Yang like that? It’s not like they _haven't_ randomly started making out in front of friends before. They _definitely_ did. They had a _lot_ of tension, Blake liked to tease, and Yang was weak-willed when it came to that. So she could pretty much see the similarities.

Luckily, the two got interrupted rather quickly when the door opened and Weiss almost ran into them.

"Jesus _Christ_ ," she muttered and pushed past them. "Can all of you stop hooking up wherever I go? There are people who don't want to fight down the urge to vomit every two minutes."

"Jealous, Ice Queen?" Coco mocked but took a step back, adjusting her beret with one hand.

"I would rather die," Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes.

Then, Weiss lifted the bag she hadn't realized she'd been holding in her hand. "Is anyone hungry? I went to get breakfast."

"Hell yes," Nora immediately said and beckoned her over.

"I'm going to wake up Yang," Blake said, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Nora and Pyrrha exchanging a look that was equal parts amused and pitying. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Pyrrha giggled. "It's just, uh... rather hard to wake Yang up in the morning.”

”But go ahead, try your luck." Nora added.

She glanced at both of them, bewildered by that comment, but let it slide and made her way back to the living room.

Yang was still laying in the exact same position she had left her in, but now she was snoring quietly. Blake suppressed a chuckle and crouched down next to her.

Her hair was soft and tousled when she reached out and gently ran a hand through it. "Yang," She whispered next to her ear. When she didn't get much of a reaction, she tried again. "Yang, wake up. It's past noon."

She was already thinking she wouldn't respond, but then she whined in a tired, husky voice: "I don’t wanna get up."

"Come on, sleepy," Blake laughed quietly and traced a finger over her closed eyelids until they reluctantly opened and blinked up at her.

"You're lucky you're cute," Yang mumbled. "Or I wouldn't tolerate another second of this shit."

"You're lucky you have such a _nice_ girlfriend who wakes you up so you can have breakfast with your friends."

"Fine," she sighed, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

Blake grinned triumphantly and offered her a hand to help her up. Yang took it, but instead of letting her pull her to her feet, she suddenly yanked her arm until she lost her footing. With a startled noise, she toppled forward and onto her chest.

Yang’s body was vibrating with laughter under hers and wrapped both of her arms _and_ legs around Blake, flipping them around.

"Yan- Oh my god, what are you _doing_?" Blake groaned as she struggled against her grip.

"I think we should stay in bed, you know, for a little longer," she said and buried her face in the crook of her neck, not loosening her hold in the slightest.

When she tried to get out again, Yang just snickered. Blake froze when she suddenly felt her lips press a gentle kiss right below her ear.

"God, you’re-ugh. You’re cheating, you ass!" Her breath caught in her throat halfway through the sentence when she felt teeth grazing over the sensitive skin on her neck, making every hair stand on end.

When Yang didn't reply, she got even more frustrated and tried to push her hands away. Before she could accomplish anything though, she caught her wrists and held them firmly in front of her chest.

Blake twisted her head around to glare at her, but her expression faltered when she grinned contently at her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't frown. Your smile looks _way_ better," she teased.

"You're so stupid," Blake said and buried her face against her shoulder to hide her smile.

"Your face is stupid."

"You like it, though."

"I do," Yang laughed and went back to kissing down her neck. Blake bit down on her lip and held it, trying not to let any noises out. 

“ _Stooop_. They are literally right over there.” Blake breathed out, giggling.

“They’ve seen me do worse, trust me.”

“You _wouldn't_.”

Yang stopped her motions to whisper in her ear. “Wanna _bet_?” 

She hated when she used that voice on her.

But Blake prevailed and pushed through. “Alright, alright. I’m gonna stop you right there.” She won _this_ battle.

Yang chuckled. After a few seconds she stopped and suddenly asked, "Can we maybe go out tonight? I think we both need to get out of here for a while."

Blake nodded immediately. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Yang smiled, but before she could answer, the door swung open.

"Oh, there you are," Nora commented. She didn't seem surprised to see them like that at all. It made Blake wonder how many times she saw something she shouldn't see, to the point where she is basically reactionless. Honestly though, considering how close Nora is with her, she would probably just shrug and walk away.

"We were starting to wonder if you got murdered for waking her up."

"Come on, who could hurt a face like this," Yang cackled.

Blake fought to look over her shoulder at Nora and Coco and mouthed: _"Help."_

"You know she won't be any use to you anymore if you squeeze her to death, right, Yang?" Coco asked, sounding completely unimpressed.

“Wow, good to know how _fast_ you’d come running if I was actually dying, though. _Thanks_.”

“Eh, you’ve would’ve been alright.”

Yang let go of her with a chuckle, but not without pressing a final kiss to her cheek. She immediately got to her feet and was surprised to see that she followed suit and trailed after her to the kitchen.

+++

This time, Blake was driving and picking _her_ up. At least that was how they had things planned. Right now her dad seemed to be out for ruining her plans, though.

"Mom, I told you I'm just going to hang out with Sun," Blake repeated. "You can call him if you don't believe me. We’ll be safe, I promise.”

Kali was standing in the corridor with her arms crossed. "Why don't you hang out with him here anymore?”

"Because I don't want to have you and dad in my business."

Kali sighed, pushing her bangs away from her eyes. "I suppose I can understand that. Also, your father won't be home tonight," She said.

"Where is he?"

"He’s meeting with a client for work."

Blake paused in putting her jacket on and turned around to him with a frown. "They need him again?”

She unfolded her arms and nodded. "Yes, sweetie. Even if we wish we could see you more, our work is the reason you can afford this kind of living. He does his best, as well as I.”

Blake nodded slowly. "Okay, but I'm still going."

The older faunus opened her mouth only to close it again, conceding. "Alright, but you _have_ lied before. You can’t blame us for worrying. Imagine if something happened to you?”

"Trust me, I'm aware," She said, looking at her coolly. "I've already started counting the days until I can finally move out of here. Then I’ll do as I please...with _whom_ I please.”

Her mom was so perplexed that she didn't even react when she walked past her and outside.

When she turned around on her way to the car, she was still standing in the doorway, looking after her and shaking her head solemnly. 

"146," Blake shouted back as she got into the driver's seat.

_146 days. Almost five months._

Then she should have enough.

Yang was already waiting on the porch when she drove up in front of her house. She was by the car in seconds and slid into the passenger's seat with a wide grin on her face.

"Why are we driving in this car again?" she asked as the engine started with a rattle.

"Because you can't drive like a lunatic with this one and I'd like to _not_ have a near-death experience for once when we're going out."

"Come on, that was romantic!" Yang laughed. "Admit it, you loved it. Why else would you have kissed me after I drove you around?”

" _You_ kissed _me_ first," Blake pointed out in jest. " _I_ just went along with it." She shrugged.

Yang only snorted. "You were into it."

She chose not to comment on that and said: "You look better than you did this morning. What did you do?"

"I had a nap. Or three," The blonde snickered. "Don't worry, I'm fit as a fiddle now."

"Great. Where exactly are we going?" She asked.

Yang shrugged. "I dunno. How about we just walk around town for a bit and see what we can do?"

Blake nodded and pulled up in a street near the park. It was a warm spring evening, the sun was just starting to set and there were still birds chirping.

Yang walked up to her and slipped her hand into hers. As they walked down the street, she was aware that several people were staring at their intertwined fingers. It wasn't like they were stopping in their tracks to gape at them or anything, but she was still anxiously aware of the attention.

Being in a same-sex relationship was one thing, but a human and a _faunus_? It was weird. Well, not weird to Blake or anyone else with common sense, but weird to _society_. She just _hated_ the eyes on her, why should _they_ care? She hated that she even cared herself.

The bad thing about anxiety was that it was hard to discern if the stares or the words were _reality_ or imaginary.

She envied Yang’s carefree ” _Eat The Rich, fuck Society_ ” rebellious attitude. Having such a non-conforming and reckless idealogy might seem like a bad influence, especially to people like her dad. Yang might be influencing her to an extent, but it was far from _bad_ in Blake’s eyes. 

It shouldn't be about being in society’s predetermined bubble, or popping others. It was about being in your _own_ bubble. 

...It made more sense when Yang said it.

Yang noticed how tense she got and held her hand a little tighter. When that didn't help, she tried what she’d always been _best_ at; deflect, distract and divert. "You know, this is our first actual, _official_ date. Isn't that weird?" She knew when to pull Blake out of her own head.

Blake nodded and looked up at her. "It is. Last time we went out alone, we weren't even together yet. That's so strange to me, because I feel like I've known you forever."

"Yeah, I know. But there just weren't enough opportunities for us to go out, with your dad and Nebula and all that..." she trailed.

"The others have no idea how lucky they are," Blake said, and couldn't keep herself from sounding bitter. "Nora and Ren could be going out already. Coco and Velvet, as well. They can introduce each other to their parents without any risks. They can go to prom together..."

Yang looked just as downcast as she felt. "Would you want to change it if you could?"

"Change the situation?" She asked. When Yang nodded she considered it for a while. "Everything might be easier if we didn't have to jump hurdles." Blake looked down at their hands and said: "But I wouldn't have this. I wouldn't be with you. Whatever you went through, or did, made you _you._ And I wouldn't change anything if it meant losing this. Or if it meant I wouldn't have you as you are, one who learned from their mistakes.”

Yang’s smile was like the sun breaking through a cloudy sky when she suddenly pulled her aside and crashed her lips onto hers.

Her surprised gasp was smothered under her mouth as she expertly took her apart. 

She only let go of her when she was a panting, flushed mess and had to lean against the brick wall behind her to stop her legs from giving away.

"You can't just do that!" Blake exclaimed once she trusted herself to speak again, and scowled at her.

"Do what?" She asked.

For a second she forgot what she was going to say when Yang looked at her. Her lips were red and slightly swollen, her lilac eyes dark and twinkling, her barely-there freckled cheeks slightly stained with a hint of pink.

"You can't just kiss me like _that_ out of nowhere," She eventually managed to say.

"Why?"

"I might... I don't know, faint? Have a heart attack?" She pressed a hand to her wildly beating heart. "This can't be healthy."

Yang looked at her wide-eyed for a few seconds before she let out a disbelieving chuckle. Blake watched her carefully when she stepped closer and brushed some curls out of her face. "What else was I supposed to do? I’m so used to people judging me, that it sort of made me happy to hear that you don’t think any less of me for it. That you think it made me into a better person...even if I dont necessarily believe that myself.”

Her heart only started beating even faster at that point, like it was trying to pound its way out of her chest. Without thinking, she grabbed her hand and placed it right over it. "See what you're doing? I wouldn't like you as much as I do if I genuinely thought you were bad. If I was into _that, I’d_ be with someone like Adam.”

Yang’s lips curled into a smile that showed that she was clearly satisfied with herself. "Yeah, I bet that little fucker _wishes_ he were me.”

Blake rolled her eyes at her and got onto her toes to kiss her smug smirk away. “You’re so annoying.”

“I know. Admit it, though. My arrogance turns you on.” Yang smirked.

“Oh yeah. _So_ much. I just _love_ hearing about how you can headbutt a mountain if you tried.” She retorted sarcastically.

“I could. Maybe two... _at the same time_.”

“ _Wow_ , I’m getting hot just thinking about it.”

“I bet I could outrun a cheetah. Maybe even _three_ cheetahs.”

“Oh _my_. You know _just_ what to say to a girl.”

“I could benchpress you with my pinky finger. _Upside-down.”_

 _“_ I’m _swooning.”_

”I can eat a _whole_ bowl of cereal before it gets soggy.”

”Take off your shirt.”

A few minutes later they decided that, as nice as it was, they couldn't spend the entire evening laughing and making out in an alleyway.

When Blake asked her what she wanted to do, she said: "We should get ice cream."

"Ice cream?" Blake asked. "It's nine in the evening."

Yang looked at her for a few seconds as if she was waiting for her to explain herself. "Your point is...?”

She laughed and slipped her hand into hers as she set off on a search for the next ice cream parlor. By now the streets had emptied noticeably and only few people were still strolling around.

"See that?" Yang suddenly asked and pointed at the windows of what looked like a really posh restaurant, right up Weiss’ alley. "I'm gonna bring you here for our anniversary." She looked pretty proud of herself for something she hadn't even done yet.

”Really?”

”Yeah,” Yang nodded, beaming. ”Why do you look so surprised?”

”I just wasn't...expecting that.” Blake confessed with pink-tinted cheeks.

”I don’t know how many times I have to say that this is the _real deal_ for me. I dunno what else I could do besides dropping on one knee and proposing.”

Blake’s blush deepened as her eyes widened. 

”Which, obviously I’m not gonna do, _duh_. We’re still in high school. Plus, I’ve already _done_ the highschool-version of a proposal. Your face is my phone’s background, I deleted all the thirsty people, your contact name is literally _Wife_ , _and_ you know my passcode.”

Blake giggled at the nonsense, fondly rolling her eyes. ”Yeah, the code I never asked for. I wouldn't invade your privacy like that.”

”It’s the thought that counts.”

After kissing her on the cheek, Blake stepped closer to a window and peeked inside. In the soft light of some chandeliers were people in suits and ties along with others in evening gowns dining at tables with white table cloths.

Apparently Yang wasn't the only one who had the idea of coming here on a date; there were couples everywhere, holding hands and laughing over glasses of red wine. Not everyone seemed to be on a date though, there were people close to where they were standing who were having a conversation.

Blake frowned when she watched them. Something about the man seemed strangely familiar, something about his posture and his clothes, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

The man leaned back in his seat right then, momentarily pausing whatever he was saying.

Blake narrowed her eyes curiously upon realization.

"What is it?" Yang asked and stepped closer.

"It's my dad," She whispered. 

Yang followed her gaze to the pair at their table and grimaced. "Hey..I know that boy with him, and the guy next to him.”

Blake raised a brow.

“He’s in the clan. He only joined as a side hustle for his family, before he found out that you can’t just walk away from it. He used to be a White Fang but they don’t really mess with him anymore since he has protection from Raven.”

The boy looked a bit younger than them. He was skinny and bruised up. His hair was brown and spiky and he had a bandaid on his nose. The tall man next to him was a fox faunas, with a hood covering most of his remaining features. Right now, the boy was busy demolishing the food in front of him, before wiping his face with a handkerchief her dad handed him.

Suddenly, all of it made sense. All those _business meetings_ her dad had attended over the past few weeks...he was meeting up with gang members?

Now she was wondering for how long this had been going on. She couldn't exactly tell what was happening. The fox faunas looked menacing and the boy just looked happy to be eating something.

Ghira himself looked determined.

"I just don’t get it... ” Blake muttered, slightly dazed and unable to take her eyes off them. "Is he trying to use his lawyer position to help him? And if so, why? He supposedly has a _grudge_ against people like that.”

Yang was silent for a moment, then she suddenly reached into Blake’s back pocket and fished her phone out of it.

Blake sent her a puzzled look when she started to take pictures through the window. "Yang, what are you doing?"

"Collecting evidence. Maybe this can come in handy... Now you have something contradictory to use.”

Her eyes widened as she let that settle in. "You're right. Oh my god, you're right!" She muttered. "I'm sure he doesn't want mom or anyone to know about this... so he _needs_ to listen to me for once."

Yang nodded and handed her the phone back. Then she looked at her again. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I’m just confused," Blake murmured and glanced at her father again. "He has to be speaking with them for a reason.”

"We should head home."

"No! I don't want to ruin our date because of this-"

Yang rolled her eyes at her, but the look on her face was worry rather than annoyance. "Blake, you're not ruining anything. Besides, now you wouldn't enjoy anything we'd do anyways, you’d be thinking too much.”

She considered that, searching her face for any signs of disappointment about their night out being cut short. Then she sighed: "Fine. Let's get out of here."

+++

The drive back home was a tense one. She could tell Yang had a lot on her mind too. The glazed over look she had only pointed to her diving back into her memories.

Yang offered to drive, but she declined. She wanted something to focus on that wasn't her dad’s meeting.

"Tell me what happened with Nebula last night," Blake said. "I meant to ask you why you were so down earlier today, but then I forgot."

Yang’s face immediately lost all its color. "Are you sure you want to hear that right now?" she asked carefully. "I mean, after what just happened with your dad and all..."

"It's okay. I want to know."

After a minute, Yang took a deep breath. "I was talking to her, trying to get her to back off the nice way. Then not too long after she, like, jumped on me. Tried to—-“

Her head whipped around to her. "Yang, what-"

"I pushed her off," Yang said quietly. "It wasn't even hard. I just told her _that_ wasn't what this was. That I wasn't single anymore and that she _knew_ that. After that, she just made some threats that kind of...scared me a bit. She kept saying things to trigger me, like she _wanted_ me to do something.”

All Blake could do was stare at her in shock. “That still doesn't give her the right to do that to you...” she sighed. "What are you going to do now?" She asked, because it was the only thing that came to mind as she was still trying to process this information. 

"I don’t know...I don’t want to push my luck with her. I don’t want to get into legal trouble, but I don’t want to sleep with her either. As angry as it gets me sometimes, I’m not gonna let her use that against me. It only takes _one_ fuck-up, Blake, and I’m _finished_.” She explained tiredly. "I'm sorry. Really, I don’t know-" She broke off, not knowing what else to say.

Neither did she, so they just sat there in silence for a while. 

Then Blake spoke up, murmuring. “I’m going to fucking _kill_ that bitch with my bare hands...” She tightly squeezed the wheel with a white-knuckled grip.

The road ahead was dark and mainly deserted, so she didn't bother staying within the speed limit. Soon they were driving just as fast as her thoughts were racing.

Yang didn't comment, maybe because she was used to speeding herself, maybe because she didn't want to make things worse.

Houses and cars and trees flew by in a blur outside, but she didn't pay any attention to them. All that mattered was the feeling of the steering wheel under her hands and the engine making the car vibrate from the inside out.

The confusion of seeing her dad talking with criminals had subsided by now, overshadowed by what Yang had told her. Now there was only rage so overwhelming it made her eyes water.

Yang was _not_ a toy. She was a real person with real feelings. She couldn't just do whatever she wanted with her.

Blake blinked the tears away angrily. Still, there seemed to build more and more with every second passing, until the street wasn't more than a blurry mix of shadows and lights.

She didn't see the red pickup truck coming.

Her foot found the brake a second too late. 

The sound of crushing metal and splintering glass was deafening and nearly drowned out Yang’s scream.

She didn't know why her forehead was on fire all of a sudden. Only when something wet trickled down the side of her face, she realized that she had hit her head on the steering wheel.

Through the fog, she knew that Yang was shouting something, but all she could hear was the numb throbbing in her skull.

Her head turned to look at her, to make sure she was fine, but she couldn't _see_ anything.

Why couldn't she _see?_

Only when the dark spots before her eyes finally blocked her sight entirely, she understood what she was crying out.

It was her name, over and over again.

It was deafening and she just wanted to go to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to the people who left messages with the energy of: ”wtf Buzzin? What happens next? I’ve started this story single and now I have 3 grandchildren!”
> 
> apologises


	34. Chapter 34

There were voices right next to her right ear. What were they thinking, talking so loudly when she just wanted to _sleep?_ What were her parents doing in her room, anyway? They hadn't come in here since she started isolating herself.

When after a few seconds they still didn't stop talking, she let out a quiet groan.

They fell silent immediately, then she heard her mom's voice again, even closer to her ear now. "Is she awake? Blake, baby, can you hear me?"

_Why wouldn't I be able to hear you? Why do you sound so worried?_

"Come on, honey, open your eyes. _Please._ Look at me."

A cold hand ran through her hair, finally startling her awake. Her eyes opened reluctantly, blinking into the bright light.

There was too much white in this room. The walls, the curtains, the sheets, all of it was hurting her eyes.

It took a few seconds for Blake to realize that she was in a hospital.

"Mom?" She muttered and looked up at her ashen face.

Her eyes were red and swollen, her quivering lips pressed into a thin line. Her ears seemed almost permanently folded downwards. She looked at least ten years older right now. "Blake," she breathed and pressed a wet kiss onto her forehead. "God, I was so worried about you, sweetheart.”

Her head felt too heavy when she lifted it to catch a glimpse of her father, who was sitting in an armchair by the window. He looked just as tired as her mom, but instead of relief, there was worry evident on his features. For a second, she wondered why he was wearing a suit, but brushed the thought off as unimportant.

"What happened?" Blake rasped.

"You got into an accident, sweetheart. Another driver slammed right into you and kept going," Ghira explained, frowning.

Blake winced and sank back into the pillows. The movement shot a surge of pain through her. She placed a hand on her lower stomach, only the feel that the area was bandaged.

Her tone was soft when Kali turned back to her and said: "It was bad. You hit your head on the steering wheel, so you have a mild concussion and a small cut on your forehead. A piece of flying shrapnel stuck you right above the hip...they stopped the bleeding. We’re just so glad you’re okay. We can take you back home after a quick check-up, alright?"

Blake nodded numbly. Something was off. How had she gotten into a car crash? As hard as she tried, she couldn't remember anything that had happened last night. She knew that she’d been going out with Yang, but-

"Yang," She choked out and gripped her mother's arm. "Mom, where is Yang? Is she alright? _Please_ tell me she’s okay.”

Kali’s reassuring smile calmed her a bit. Her voice was strained when she shortly answered: "She’s fine. I heard her arm got pretty banged up but it’s fine. _She’s_ fine.”

"Not for long," Her father said. "When I get my hands on her-"

"Dad, _no_. It wasn't her fault!"

"You're right...but hanging around people like that will only lead to more hurt.”

Blake didn't have the energy nor the will to argue, so she just turned her head and stared at the ceiling in silence.

Kali inhaled sharply and spun around to face her husband. "You don't really mean that."

When Ghira just stared at her, unyielding and saddened, she took his arm and led him out of the room.

As soon as the door fell shut behind them, Blake let out a breath she hadn't realized she’d been holding.

She didn't have much time to dwell on her thoughts as only two minutes later, the door opened again. A small gasp fell from her lips when she saw who was standing there.

Yang was by her side in five strides and almost crushed her hand when she gripped it, as if she was scared she’d vanish as soon as she let go. "You're okay," she whispered. It sounded almost incredulous.

Blake’s hand shot forward and grabbed her chin on its own accord. "Are you?" She asked with equally as much concern and turned her face from side to side to check for any bruises. Then, her eyes lingered on her right arm, that was extensively bruised, bloodied, and bandaged up. There were some cuts on her hands too, but nothing too serious.

The weight on her chest lifted a little when she didn't find anything else. She was fine for the most part.

"I'm alright." Yang looked at her for a few seconds with a weird look on her face. There was insecurity and relief and something else... guilt? Her voice was barely more than a whisper when she asked: "Is it... Can I kiss you? I’m just.. _so_ glad you’re okay. All that _blood_...”

Blake blinked up at her in bewilderment. _Why is she asking? She knows she doesn't have to do that._

Instead of answering, she propped herself up on one arm and pulled her into a brief kiss.

As soon as Yang’s lips grazed over hers, she noticed that something was different. Yang seemed almost scared to touch her and left her hands by her sides instead of holding her close. She was being careful and let her take control instead. Not once did she push or take initiative. “God, _baby_. I’m glad you’re okay.”

After a few seconds, Blake let it go in favour of concentrating solely on the feeling of her. She was probably just being careful because she had gotten one to the head and had pain in her lower abdomen. Yang was also not trying to use her arm too much.

"You need to go," Blake whispered when they eventually separated. "My dad will be back soon."

Yang looked like she wanted to say something, but then she just nodded. Only when she already had one hand on the door handle, she turned around and smiled tentatively at her. "Thank you."

Before she could speak and ask what the hell she was thanking her for, she disappeared in the corridor outside, leaving her alone with dozens of questions and her lips still tingling from the weight of her mouth against them.

+++

"It's just a mild concussion and a small cut on your forehead. The puncture right above your waist was the worst of it, it’ll leave quite a scar. You might experience dizziness and nausea, and may have a headache but that should wear off in a few days. You’ll also experience some mild tingling, soreness and shocks of pain due to the puncture from the shrapnel. Luckily, it hit no major organs so there shouldn't be too much trauma or permanent damage for the inflicted area. It's important that you rest and avoid too much physical exertion."

Blake nodded slowly. Somehow it was kind of hard for her to follow the doctor as she was running through all the results of her check-up.

She seemed to notice and smiled warmly at her. "It isn't unusual that the brain will process new information a little slower for a few days. You might also experience some form of short-term memory loss, but in most cases, it's only temporary."

_So that's why I can't remember last night_.

"You're really lucky nothing worse happened to you, young lady," the doctor said with her hands on her hips. "Take this as a lesson to drive carefully and be more aware of your surroundings, okay?”

"She won't drive at all," Ghira said before she could answer.

Blake spun around to her with an incredulous stare. "You're joking, right?"

"The time for jokes is over," he answered, stone-faced. "Your car is getting fixed right now. When we get it back, you won’t be using it anymore.”

"Dad...”

"It's for the best, sweetie," Kali interfered and slung an arm around her shoulders. "You're clearly in no condition to drive.”

The doctor awkwardly clearing her throat to direct the attention back to the matter at hand interrupted the tension between them. "Well, I hope you feel better soon, Blake. If you experience any type of physical discomfort, or immense pain during the next few days, don't hesitate to call. Have a nice day."

Blake nodded and forced a smile onto her lips.

As soon as she was gone, her father slung a steadying arm around her waist and led her out of the room. ”Here, I got you, sweetie. Don’t hesitate to put all your weight on me. I’m not _that_ old.”

They didn't get very far. Only a few steps down the corridor, a door opened and out stepped-

"Nebula," Blake hissed.

Nebula looked different than usual. Instead of being dressed to the nines, she was clad in sweatpants and a baggy shirt. Without tons of makeup on, barely covering a black eye, she looked like an entirely different person; for the first time she could see the dark circles under her eyes and how pale she actually was.

"Oh. Hello, Blake," she said.

Blake raised a brow when she heard her voice. She didn't even bother to lace her words with disgust or anger, like she usually did. Her tone was flat and tired. Exhausted, almost. "What are you doing here?"

"Yang hasn't told you?" she asked incredulously.

She shook her head, taken aback by that comment. For some reason she felt like she was supposed to know why she was here, but even when she concentrated, she came up with nothing.

"Well, I'm not gonna steal her thunder then. She’s got some explaining to do.”

One corner of her mouth quirked up in a tiny sneer. 

"Right," The faunus muttered absentmindedly, still trying to remember what this was about.

"Absolutely not," Ghira cut in. "This is not going to happen again. I won’t let you get hurt again from irresponsible recklessness. You could’ve died! From now on, you’ll do everything necessary to keep away from that girl. She just brings trouble.”

Nebula only smiled brilliantly at her parents. "Of course I'll try my hardest to assist with that. It's as much in my interest as it is in yours, after these turn of events. She should be around those who won’t get her hurt again.”

"Thank you, Nebula." Ghira said firmly.

Blake couldn't hold back a snort, ignoring her father's quzzicial gaze.

"No worries, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna. I like to help where I can, especially when it means helping a friend. Yang told me about the car accident. They both could've gotten seriously injured last night. I think that's just another sign that Blake needs a good influence around.” 

"Because you're always so careful when it comes to Yang’s well-being, right?" Blake inquired. Keeping her voice calm was one of the hardest things she had done in weeks. "I could see how _great_ she was after she'd been with you."

Nebula crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you should be _damn_ careful what you're doing to her," Blake piped and stepped as close as her father's gentle hold on her allowed. "You should've seen her Friday night, after you left her there. She... she wasn't okay."

"How is it _my_ fault that she can't handle my constructive honesty," Nebula said with a shrug.

Still not knowing what she was talking about, Blake pointed at the door at the end of the corridor. Through gritted teeth she pressed out: "Goodbye.”

Nebula’s lips curled into a scornful smile. "I was on my way out anyway." With that, she walked off and only turned around once more when she had almost reached the exit. "I'm so glad nothing happened to you, Blake. Have a nice day, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna."

Blake stared after her, not even bothering to try and conceal the disgust on her face.

”Are you okay?” Kali asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

”I do what I have to do to protect my daughter. You don’t know what I know.” Ghira answered instead.

Kali stared at her husband for a moment, shaking her head.

"We should go," Her father declared with a downcast face and walked her down the hall, out of the exit Nebula had just disappeared through.

Blake searched the parking lot for her, since she couldn't have come far yet. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she saw her getting into a car. Only when she got a good look through the windshield, she saw that it was Adam’s. She was gesticulating, panicked; between them and seemed to be shouting, but Nebula seemed entirely unimpressed.

Huh. It had to have been a rental because Blake could’ve sworn Adam drove a big pick-up truck.


End file.
